Shelby County Texas - Son Ticketed for Unlawful Transportation of Firearm

[TexasRifleman]

(a-1) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly carries on or about his or her person a handgun in a motor vehicle that is owned by the person or under the person's control at any time in which:

As salty wrote some cops can be very creative in their writing.

If stopped and the subject should come up can you prove you are the LEGAL owner of the handgun?

That law says you have to be the owner or operator of the MOTOR VEHICLE, not the gun..

The law says nothing about proving ownership of a gun even if you are carrying it with you. One more thing that cops cannot do and if they DO they can lose their jobs and their retirements.

Now you're going to tell us that you know a guy who had a cousin that went to school with a guy that knew about a guy getting arrested because he couldn't prove he owned a gun. If so then he should have filed a complaint and gone after the LEO. No one should tolerate this kind of abuse of power.

You keep missing the point in all of these. The point is not that these things may happen now and then, it's that when they DO happen they are crimes and we must push back, not just take it.

 

[TexasRifleman]

A law (or laws) don't have to exist in order for you to be [falsely] arrested for violating them. From the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) website:

Exactly. That's the point. When it happens it's a crime by the LEO and should be pursued as far as possible. They need to pay the price for this kind of thing.

 

[Deanimator]

Exactly. That's the point. When it happens it's a crime by the LEO and should be pursued as far as possible. They need to pay the price for this kind of thing.

I've asked for an update on the Fairfax County incident. So far, there hasn't been any, other than an unconfirmed report that the victim decided not to sue. I suspect that if that's the case, VCDL is working behind the scenes to change his mind.

That was such an UTTERLY egregious case that careers and lives need to be seriously damaged because of it. If I were the victim, I'd sell everything I owned if need be to finance a suit against the officers and the county. No settlements, no mercy. Criminality of that sort has to be punished, harshly and without one iota of compassion.

 

[TexasRifleman]

've asked for an update on the Fairfax County incident. So far, there hasn't been any, other than an unconfirmed report that the victim decided not to sue. I suspect that if that's the case, VCDL is working behind the scenes to change his mind.

Wow, I'd be all over that one. Better odds than Vegas if you ask me

 

[ants]

For the sake of clarity

I assumed that the intent of the original post was that the kid paid the ticket for SPEEDING rather than fight an alleged firearms charge.

If this is true, I believe that several members may have misunderstood the circumstances.



A single, hastily written paragraph by an angry parent seldom includes us all the facts. I know he is upset right now, but I hope Gamboolman has the time to sit down and tell us everything that really happened. If he is requesting sympathy or advice, we deserve to know all the facts.

Or maybe our friend Gamboolman was just hot under the collar, and just needed to vent to friendly guys like us. That's cool. We all need that occasionally.

 

[Deanimator]

Wow, I'd be all over that one. Better odds than Vegas if you ask me

You'd have a better chance fending off a grizzly bear with a nerf bat than those officers and the county would of prevailing if a first year law student took that case to trial. The multiple examples of clear malice are just icing on the cake.

 

[TexasRifleman]

If this is true, I believe that several members may have misunderstood the circumstances.

That was certainly possible from the OP, which is why I said there must be something missing. But then the OP posts a second time and says:

It is just with him still being in college and we are paying for his schooling - (our choice and we are blessed that I have a good enough job that we can put our kids thru school) - I just hate to see him get a ticket/charge that may haunt him in later life.

Speeding tickets don't "haunt people for life". It seems to indicate pretty clearly that dad thinks the young man pled guilty or no contest to "unlawful carrying of a firearm" and paid a fine for that, not speeding.

But, there STILL seems to be something missing so it will be interesting to find out how this plays out. You may be right and the dad is just confused about what happened.

That would certainly make sense. Some cop threatening more serious charges if the guy doesn't give in to the speeding charge. That I'll buy. Still sleazy, but not necessarily illegal since cops are allowed to lie in general.

 

[MattTheHat]

I wouldn't let it go either. If the ticket should never have been issued, then wether or not it was paid should be immaterial.

Hell, even the ACLU might be interested.


-Matt

 

[bdickens]

The Texas ACLU would most definitely be interested.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

For the life of me, I have never heard of being ticketed for unlawful transportation of a firearm. Even so, if it was a ticket, it isn't going to "haunt" him.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Even so, if it was a ticket, it isn't going to "haunt" him.

Yeah that's likely what, Class C or maybe B misdemeanor at worst.

Still, I sure would like to know what really went on. It's a bizarre story.

 

[mgkdrgn]

The arrest record is still there and it could come back years later and bite him.

"Arrested" and "ticketed" are two entirely different things.

 

[AKElroy]

He paid the citation?

How?

I can't imagine the court clerk was able to find a penalty schedule for an offense that doesn't exist.

Every citation I have seen has a list of offences that the officer must mark. I have never seen firearms related offences listed on a citation, so I wonder how the fine could have been paid absent an adjudication & court imposed fine. I assume a violation of gun laws would result in arrest & confiscation of the weapon. As expressed in numerous other posts, something looks to be missing from this account.

 

[herohog]

I was busted for "possession of deadly weapons" when I was in the Navy stationed in New London, CT. It was a BS charge as all the guns were 100% legal, they just scared the young cop. With no lawyer (Stupid Stupid Stupid!) I went to court and had it reduced to "disorderly conduct" and paid a small fine and got all my rifles back, less all the ammo (several hundred rounds). If _I_, as a stupid, young squid could get "possession of deadly weapons" reduced to "disorderly conduct" and walk away with a record that has never hurt me at all, I would think THIS could have turned out MUCH better if ANYONE had even tried a LITTLE bit! I would LOVE to know the end result and whole story on this one.

 

[Art Eatman]

Too much unknown, too much unclear, too much speculation.

Too much.