Help for Friend

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CalebJns

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I have a buddy that is wanting to purchase a gun, but is afraid to go try due to a traffic ticket he received 2 months ago. He failed to pay for the ticket, and as a result has a warrant out for him for failure to appear...he will have to pay court cost and the ticket, but also turn himself in...will this pop up on a gun purchase? will it affect his being able to purchase now or in the future?
 
When the NICS check goes through, the local PD might appear at the gun shop to deal with the traffic warrant situation.

He should get a lawyer to help him deal with the traffic problem. He needs to fix that long before buying any new guns.
 
I have been telling him the same things! I just can't decide what I should do...It is like I have been telling him the same things for 2 months now, and he will not listen! but i do agree, if he has the money to purchase a gun, he has money to fix the problem!

The only other question is, will this affect his ability to purchase in the future, that is as soon as he clesrs this up?
 
It is like I have been telling him the same things for 2 months now, and he will not listen!
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Not to be harsh man, but sometimes being a friend means letting them take a hit and learn the hard way.
If he has a warrant issued, it's pretty likely it'll flag, since most of the recent NICS reforms have been to get faster updates to the main system.
Usually a warrant is issued by the sheriff's office, who because of their unique position covering any place that doesn't have a local force, i.e. most of a state, they are usually pretty tight with the Feds.

Depending on the severity (traffic crimes usually aren't) as soon as he gets the warrant removed by turning himself in, pays the piper, and serves his time, he could probably own a gun. It might take a bit of work to clear up the red tape, but he's not likely to be permanently barred. He needs to act fast before the warrant turns into a bunch of angry cops. If the cops have to come and get you, they're bringing a whole lot of pain with them.

He needs to speak with a lawyer and turn himself in, in that order. He needs to forget a gun, as (and I know I'm sounding like an anti here) he's likely only to get into trouble with it, given that he's so lax about his own legal concerns.
 
Turning himself in???

This involves going to the courthouse, paying the fine and court costs,etc. and walking out. Sounds like your friend may be in deeper water than just a simple failure to pay/appear. What exactly was the offense?
 
IMO he is a idiot and should NOT own a gun. (he has a proven history of making STUPID choices)
NOT for getting traffic ticket. (maybe) Not even for not taking care of it quickly (doubltful) but for wanting to buy a GUN with a WARRENT out for him.

He needs to get in contact with a lawyer. (it is clear he is not smart enough to handle this himself) ASAP He should be (outside) lawyers office before they open their doors tomarrow.

Now if it was a GOOD friend of mine I might try to help him out without legal costs. Get all info he has (the TRUTH) and call court in morning. Let them know you are a friend and he didn't get this ticket paid off (I do hope he has a REASON) I.E. he was in hospital in major surgury, in a coma, had family member in another state in coma/major medical,etc.
Ask what he can do (have idea what $$$ he has INSTANTLY available in CASH) Odds are all you can say is that it seems to you he had a case of the STUPIDS and ask for any help. Odds are he WILL have to turn himself in... (with lawyer he might do better but there is $$$)
 
Turning himself in???

This involves going to the courthouse, paying the fine and court costs,etc. and walking out. Sounds like your friend may be in deeper water than just a simple failure to pay/appear. What exactly was the offense?
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It was a something like getting in a turn lane early or something...LEO's in his town are not known for their "duty to serve" but more like what they can get out of it...in all honesty. From what he tells me, it sounds like that is all he would have to do, pay the fine, and court cost, at the precinct, and he would be "free" to go...or so the magistrate has told him (again second hand knowledge on my part). I have offered to help, however he is in a different state than I am in, so not sure how they would take my help ($$$.$$, etc.) or if I would even be able to pay for his ticket / court fees...I don't think money is the issue, it is the "fear of the unknown" as to what will happen when he turns himself in...of course I have advised him it would be a lot better then getting pulled over for going 1 mile over the speed limit, and being hauled to jail. But then again, who am I?

Do you really think he needs to lawyer up? Would that be necessary? He told me that he has already admitted to the court that he is guilty and just simply "forgot" to pay the ticket...not sure again how, but for all intents and purposes...he was busy at work???? I don't know...but would it really be worth the money to hire an attorney to resolve, or just bite the bullet and turn himself in?
 
The offenses described are not offenses, if for which he is convicted, would prevent him from owning a gun. Failure to appear, contempt of court, etc, are actually more harmful. It asks on the 4473 if you are a fugitive from justice. Technically, right now he is.

I left the country for two years, came home, and bought a gun two days later. Background check, took it home, no problem. Two weeks later, I got pulled over for a bad taillight, and I popped for a warrant, failure to appear, suspended license. I was in the city lockup for three hours before they were able to decide that it was likely an error due to poor recordkeeping on the part of my former insurance company, my VERY common first and last name, and not worth holding me for, since in all likelihood I would make a couple of phone calls first thing in the morning and straighten it out, (Which I did.) The point is, none of that stuff was in the system after two years. Petty civil stuff, maybe it will go in, maybe it won't. Who knows. My experience is that city courts can be VERY um, overworked and behind in their processes, which often results in all kinds of errors. (I have also used this inefficiency to get out of a couple of tickets.)

The bad news is, if your friend's city is much better organized than mine, he will go to make the purchase, and either be refused, have the refusal remain as a mark in the system, or worst of all, the guy selling him the gun is the sheriff's brother in law, and he will stall him long enough to show up, cuff him, toss him in the city joint until he chokes it up. Does he feel lucky?
 
My thoughts exactly...he is doing more harm to himself, by PROLONGING the whole issue! I have begged him for a week now (since he found out about it, they actually pulled his wife over looking for him, thus he found out about the warrant), to take care of it, and face the music...more than likely it will be paid and done with, with a slight blemish on his driving record...but again, who am I, but a friend...and one that tells him straight down the line! I'll keep you guys up to date on it all...thanks and keep the thoughts coming!
 
Update on the situation, and more advise needed...he turned himself in, it took no longer than 30 minutes before he was back to his life...however the magistrate could not tell him one way or the other if it would affect his ability to purchase a gun from a dealer...according to the magistrate, it would be on his record for an arrest for failure to appear, would that disqualify him from being able to purchase through a dealer?
 
Even though he has already turned himself in, was "booked"/arrested? I assume the charge would stay on his record, my question is, will that charge limit him from purchasing in the future?
 
Arrests and charges don't count. Convictions do. If your friend has been to the courthouse, paid the fine, and the warrant is gone, then he should be good to go. If I were him I'd wait a week or so for the fact that he dealt with the problem to work its way through the system of databases.
 
That has been addressed Blackbeard...He has already turned himself in, paid the fine, and court cost, etc. My question is still not really been answered...will this affect his ability to purchase in the future?
 
Read (B5)

http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/faq2.htm#b5

He was "in and out" in 30 minutes according to you. If he was convicted of a crime punishable by a jail term exceeding one year he can't buy a firearm.

Why don't you list what he did, then maybe someone could give you more concrete answers. If you don't want to give specifics, then you'll have to figure this out for yourself.

Since all we really know was he was "in and out in 30 minutes" .......... probably nothing to worry about?

Was he convicted of a crime punishable by a jail term exceeding one year?

The reason you haven't been given a concrete answer is you haven't really told us the "meat" of the issue.
 
He's probably good to go. Read Important Notice 4 on page 3 of the form 4473. It says the one year imprisionment clause does not include State misdemeanors punishiable by imprisionment of 2 years or less. He didn't even go to a court, let alone a Federal court, he went before a magistrate. Just tell him to go attempt to buy the gun and fill out the form, if NICS says no, then he can request the reason why and appeal it.

They certainly are not going to show up to handcuff him before the FFL hangs up the phone. He's OK to at least fill out the form, IMNAL's opinion.
 
Thanks NavyLT...that seems to answer my question for him...as for what he did...read the OP...he failed to pay a traffic ticket before his court date, and then failed to appear at court. He has a gun show coming up in the area he lives, and that is why the sudden concern, that and hunting season, one always needs new rifles and shotguns, and a "trusty" new SIDEARM.

Thanks for the info, keep them coming.
 
I agree with RobTzu: if he's got enough money to buy a gun, he's got enough money to pay his tickets.

Want some real advice? Stop trying to "help" your friend. He is a big boy. He should be able to take care of himself. Give him the chance to be an adult.
 
I agree with all the others.

If there is something he is hiding, it will most likely show up on a firearm purchase and the background check.
 
They certainly are not going to show up to handcuff him before the FFL hangs up the phone.
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Maybe, maybe not...Here in Illinois the NICS check is done by the State Police. The FFL is instructed to try to keep the wanted person in the store and local LE is contacted. Warrant arrests have been made in the gun shop. I have been dispatched to a gun shop for that very reason. I have no idea how it works if the feds are doing the background check.

Jeff
 
Dear Caleb,

The qualified answer to you question about arrest is maybe. If the local agency that issued the ticket and and received the Failure to Appear warrant communicates with the Alabama Highway Patrol who maintains hot files in the state, then your friend may be arrested. More importantly, the 4473 has a question, that I remember goes something like this. . . "Are you a fugitive from justice?" which the FBI defines as being the subject of an active felony or misdemeanor warrant.

Depends on what your friend's ticket is for there are misdemeanor traffic offenses in every state, and the failure to appear may be a misdemeanor offense as well. If he answers no on the 4473 to the fugitive question he could be prosecuted for a felony.

Tell him to get this fixed. He doesn't need the headaches. . . the longer it goes, the more expensive it gets to fix it and the more constrained he is in living his life.
 
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