My buddy pulled his gun now what??

[tblt]

My friend pulled his gun on an unarmed woman running at his car.
The story I got was a woman was running toward his girlfriend in the pasengers seat and he felt threatend by her so he pulled his gun.This is all I know.The woman droped charges after he droped assault charges.The cops took his carry gun and his other gun in the trunk that was in a case.He now has a court date in 4 weeks to tell his story to a judge.

What do you guys think will happen??
He thinks he may only get his carry permit suspended for a short time.
I think he will loose it for good because it was an unarmed woman and he was in his car.He could have drove away,rolled up the window,worst of all it was 2 of them on one unarmed woman.

This all happened in florida

 

[TexasRifleman]

First of all it makes a HUGE difference in what state this occurred.

After that we'll all play the guessing game. Hope he has a lawyer.

Just because someone is unarmed doesn't mean they are not a threat, but in general you need to be able to explain WHY you thought them a threat.

And is there a duty to retreat in the state? That's why the location matters a great deal.

And you say he was in a position to file assault charges on her? So clearly she must have been doing more than just "running towards his car".

 

[P95loser]

Sounds like your friend is in a tough spot... He could have made better choices and will now pay for them.

 

[Ridgerunner665]

Depends on where this happened....it could be real bad...or it could be a "slap on the wrist"...geography matters.

 

[springmom]

Depends on what state it happened, but I'm thinking that even in a gun friendly state, he's going to have a tough sell to the judge.

Springmom

 

[another okie]

I'm sure there is more to the story of why this woman was running at the guy's car. Perhaps your buddy or his girlfriend had escalated the situation somehow, or his girlfriend had dropped her purse and the nice lady was returning it. But as you point out, driving away is a good solution.

 

[RP88]

well, if the running woman was charged with assault...and he can give good reason to that charge...

 

[romma]

Depends on what state it happened, but I'm thinking that even in a gun friendly state, he's going to have a tough sell to the judge.

Agreed springmom.

Of course there is the "however"...

However, if his attorney is good, and the state is friendly, and the threat or perceived threar as real, who knows?

At least he didn't pull the trigger, he has that going for him as well.

 

[igpoobah]

if all charges were dropped on both sides why is he going to court?

Just to get his weapons back?

 

[mallc]

In Iowa

He would loose the permit to carry at minimum. If he was not engaged in one of the activities covered by the permit he will do some jail time in addition to loosing his cc permit. If there is alcohol involved or stalking or abuse, he could loose his right to purchase firearms.

Scott

 

[Anonymous Coward]

What do you guys think will happen??

He's either going to hire a lawyer, or he's going to soon regret not hiring one.

 

[tblt]

All this happened in florida and the cops did charge him with a mistamener because there was a gun involved and thats why he has to go to court.He is going to get a lawyer this week and try to get his gun back soon.He said his CCW is still good.

The cops had a long talk with him about how stupid he was for pulling his gun under that situation.

 

[Geno]

PM sent

 

[SCKimberFan]

He may lose his permit, he will not loose it.

However, that is brandishing your weapon, a felony in some states.

 

[moga]

My friend pulled his gun on an unarmed woman running at his car.

The story I got was a woman was running toward his girlfriend in the pasengers seat and he felt threatend by her so he pulled his gun.

A person "running" at a car is not a lethal threat unless there are other circumstances present. If she was unarmed, I fail to see how she was a legitimate threat, when your friend was in his MV and armed. All he needed to do was drive away to end the "threat." No need to pull his gun.

I have a FL CCW and although a person is legally allowed to defend themselves while in a motor vehicle without retreat, there still has to be a legitimate threat to justify aiming your weapon at a human being. A threat from a person outside of your motor vehicle unarmed, when you have a firearm, is a tough sell to argue self defense. And I'm not so sure an Agg Assault is a charge that a DA will "allow" a complainant to drop on their whim. Something ain't adding up.

I wonder if your friend is giving you scant details plus using a little creative license in the aftermath to improve his standing in your eyes.

Rule II: do not point your weapon at anything your not willing to destroy. Why would your friend want to destroy an unarmed woman?

It doesn't sound like your friend has the proper mindset to carry a gun. If that AA sticks, he won't have to worry about whether his license will get suspended or revoked. He'll have other concerns on which to focus.

 

[moga]

Use of Deadly Force for Lawful Self Defense

The entire FAQ is informative on when you can use your FL CCW. I decided to import this one Q&A as it has direct bearing on the dialouge of this thread.

http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/self_defense.html


Q. What if I point my handgun at someone but don't use it?

A. Never display a handgun to gain "leverage" in an argument. Threatening someone verbally while possessing a handgun, even licensed, will land you in jail for three years. Even if the gun is broken or you don't have bullets, you will receive the mandatory three-year sentence if convicted. The law does not allow any possibility of getting out of jail early.

Example: In a 1987 case, a woman refused to pay an automobile mechanic who she thought did a poor job repairing her car. They argued about it, and the mechanic removed the radiator hose from the car so she couldn't drive it away. She reached into her purse, pulled out an unloaded gun, and threatened to kill the mechanic if he touched her car again. The mechanic grabbed the gun and called the police.

The woman was convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm and sentenced to serve a mandatory three-year prison term. The fact that the gun was not loaded was irrelevant. Even though she was the mother of three dependent children and had no prior criminal record, the statute does not allow for parole. Her only recourse was to seek clemency from the Governor.

 

[tblt]

At this point the woman has no charges against her.He is the only one going to court from charges from the sherrif dept.
My friend knows he made a mistake now,he said at the time he just reacted.
My friend is the one that called the cops after the gun was pulled and the woman backed off but also waited for the cops.

 

[moga]

He's lucky he's just going to court. Unless he was bailed out of jail, he got a very lucky break and should be glad to only lose his CWP.

At this point the woman has no charges against her.He is the only one going to court from charges from the sherrif dept.

I am not at all surprised to learn this. As I said, your friend doesn't have the proper mindset to wield an instrument of deadly force. He should have never introduced his firearm into the situation.

 

[divemedic]

Your friend needs an attorney. He may get out of this, it depends on why he felt threatened by the woman.

 

[GRIZ22]

Not enough info to express an opinion. Just why did he feel threatened to justify the use of deadly force?

 

[xjchief]

The fact that there is entirely too little information leads me to believe that you or your friend aren't telling the whole story.

 

[tblt]

He won't tell me anymore.
All he tells me is it's a long story.I think only the cops might know the whole story because they talked to all people involved.Another person also saw what happened and saw the gun
I think he afraid what might happen

http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/weapons/self_defense.html

 

[DFW1911]

My friend knows he made a mistake now,he said at the time he just reacted.

That very well may be the case, but w/ CHL you have to be more discerning, not less.

I wasn't there and, as such, really have no opinion on the issue. I am glad that nobody was shot or injured.

If he's learned anything I think he probably now has a little more insight into what deadly force means.

Thanks,
DFW1911

 

[tblt]

I told him pulling the gun is the last resort.He would have been better off driving away and accedentlly running over the person I think.
I think if he ever carry's again he will do so with more caution.
This might cost a lot of money to get out of,I found out on the link I posted about it could land him 3 yrs. in jail if convicted

 

[Jeff White]

I think only the cops might know the whole story because they talked to all people involved.Another person also saw what happened and saw the gun

They don't know the whole story either. They have several versions of what happened. What will most likely happen in court is that whatever version is the most plausible to the judge (bench trial) or jury is what will forever be the whole story, even if it's not really the whole story.

Your friend used very poor judgment and hopefully the worst that will happen is that he loses his CCW. That's probably the best solution for him and the public.

Jeff