*Felony Gun Possesion Charges Dropped*

The_Outlaw

The_Outlaw

~The Dude Abides~
A registered nurse and fourth-year med student got a no-jail, misdemeanor deal today for the Tennessee-registered gun she tried to check at the 9/11 Memorial in December.

Manhattan prosecutors this morning dropped the felony gun possession charges Meredith Graves had originally been slammed with -- charges carrying a mandatory minimum of 3 1/2 years prison.

Graves pleaded guilty instead to a misdemeanor weapons possession charge, a move that she hopes will save both her gun license and pending medical license, said her lawyer, Daniel Horwitz.



Read more: Tenn. woman gets no-jail deal after trying to check gun at 9/11 Memorial - NYPOST.com
 
It's a tragedy this happened in the first place. So much for trying to do the right thing as a legal, law abiding US citizen.
 
This appears to be common in NYC. They let you plea to a misd and agreement to allow for the confiscation and destruction of your firearm as well as paying a huge fine all to escape the felony conviction. Nothing but legalized extortion.
 
Purple said:
It's a tragedy this happened in the first place. So much for trying to do the right thing as a legal, law abiding US citizen.
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Except she wasn't a law abiding citizen - she was violating the law by being in possession of the firearm in the place in which she was in possession of the firearm. Tennessee arrest people for being in possession of firearm in places the laws of Tennessee prohibit possession of a firearm, like the guy who forgot his weapon was in his backpack and got arrested and charged by Tennessee under Tennessee law.


Lets hope Ms. Forgetful doesn't fly home and forget she has her firearm on her while in a secure area of the airport in Tennessee.


And lets hope Ms. Forgetful doesn't forget where she left the surgical instruments if she ever becomes a doctor. Maybe some day a patient will go home from the hospital and find they have Ms. forgetful's firearm in their body.


It was all just an innocent mistake, the lawyer said. Graves had come to New York on a job interview, and realized she had her small, .22-cal. handgun on her once she stopped by the memorial to pay her respects.
"It was completely inadvertent," the lawyer said. "She lives a very hectic life," as a doctor in training, "working nights and then mornings. Somehow, the bag got packed, and the gun was in there."
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Tenn. woman gets no-jail deal after trying to check gun at 9/11 Memorial - NYPOST.com


I wonder if she would use the same excuse if she left her weapon in her car where one of her kids got a hold of it and killed themselves or one of their siblings?


​
 
At least the judicial system worked for them (the nurse and Marine). Instead of being hit with some blanket punishment that brings the hammer down on everyone regardless of what was really happening, they were treated as individuals and the circumstances surrounding them were taken into account. They weren't people with extensive criminal histories or previous firearm violations and as a result they were cut some serious slack. They made an honest (but foolish and naive) mistake, nobody got hurt, and they got a tap on the wrist for being ignorant of a rather important law.
 
nogods said:
Except she wasn't a law abiding citizen - she was violating the law by being in possession of the firearm in the place in which she was in possession of the firearm. Tennessee arrest people for being in possession of firearm in places the laws of Tennessee prohibit possession of a firearm, like the guy who forgot his weapon was in his backpack and got arrested and charged by Tennessee under Tennessee law.


Lets hope Ms. Forgetful doesn't fly home and forget she has her firearm on her while in a secure area of the airport in Tennessee.


And lets hope Ms. Forgetful doesn't forget where she left the surgical instruments if she ever becomes a doctor. Maybe some day a patient will go home from the hospital and find they have Ms. forgetful's firearm in their body.





Tenn. woman gets no-jail deal after trying to check gun at 9/11 Memorial - NYPOST.com


I wonder if she would use the same excuse if she left her weapon in her car where one of her kids got a hold of it and killed themselves or one of their siblings?


​
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Excuse me Mr Nogods sir, I and the other members here did not realize you were so perfect, as I see it her only mistake was telling the cop/doorman at the memorial, that she had the gun in the first place, I know this Lady, I know the range and instructors where she got her permit, they did everything by the book, its just unfortunate that this will probably cost her a lot, I grew up in NY, and they have always had the most insain gun laws ever heared of, and it would take a act of congress to get me back there
 
First weapons violation in my state is already a misdemeanor, probably plea it down to less the first time. Second is a felony though you could probably plea that to a misdemeanor. Third time? Well youre really an idiot and they should throw the book at you.

But THAT is the definition of leniency.

And bottom line, we all know what the 2A says, forget the word games. The US government is suppose to enfore it on every state. Maybe as the law is illegally being applied in NYC(consttutional law trumps all others), ill choose to be damned if I call her a criminal.
 
FORMER marine Jerome Ryan hasn't decided whether he is going to take the deal. His lawyer made a good presentation for dismissal of the charges but given that the DA would not go below a misdemeanor for the nurse might be problematic.

However, Ryan can claim he knew he had the gun, he made a mistake in checking the law, and although "ignorance of the law is no excuse", mistake of law can be because it goes to scienter.

So it is still possible Ryan will get a dismissal on the grounds of substantial justice. Then he won't have to answer questions about a misdemeanor charge and a summary court martial on any future firearms permit applications.
 
Rocketgeezer said:
Excuse me Mr Nogods sir, I and the other members here did not realize you were so perfect, as I see it her only mistake was telling the cop/doorman at the memorial, that she had the gun in the first place, I know this Lady, I know the range and instructors where she got her permit, they did everything by the book, its just unfortunate that this will probably cost her a lot, I grew up in NY, and they have always had the most insain gun laws ever heared of, and it would take a act of congress to get me back there
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First, "Mr. Nogods" was my father's name, you can just call me "nogods"

Second, how does her case differ from the guy from Texas that was arrested by Tennessee and charged under Tennessee with possessing a gun in a prohibited area - he just forgot it was in his backpack. Must be those insane Tennessee gun laws.

Third, this women claims that from the time she home until the time she arrived at the 9-11 memorial, she was unaware that the weapon was in her handbag. What if she had kids in the car, got out to pump gas, and one of the kids took out the gun and caused a tragedy? Would you still defend her?
 
Since nobody has said anything about it so far, her goes; WTF was she doing carrying a .22 for SD? Does she have some type of medical condition or other physical ailment that would prevent her from accurately and safely firing a larger caliber gun? As an instructor, I would be embarrassed to hear about one of my students getting busted for a firearms violation. To hear that she violated firearms laws AND was carrying a .22 for SD is way too much for me. :-(
 
IN REPLY TO NOGODS POST (since both reply and reply with quote seem to be broken):

<quote>"First, "Mr. Nogods" was my father's name, you can just call me "nogods"

Second, how does her case differ from the guy from Texas that was arrested by Tennessee and charged under Tennessee with possessing a gun in a prohibited area - he just forgot it was in his backpack. Must be those insane Tennessee gun laws.

Third, this women claims that from the time she home until the time she arrived at the 9-11 memorial, she was unaware that the weapon was in her handbag. What if she had kids in the car, got out to pump gas, and one of the kids took out the gun and caused a tragedy? Would you still defend her? "<end quote>

Allright, nogods Junior it is.

The concealed carry maps illustrate the difference in gun laws. Look at them. The ENTIRE state of New York is off-limits for carry to anyone with a concealed carry license from ANY state other than New York. By contrast most (but not all) states have areas wherein carry is prohibited even with a concealed carry license BUT the ENTIRE state of Tennessee (for instance) is not off-limits to the holder of a Texas permit - or even a New York permit (gotta admit honoring a NY permit DOES push TN gun laws toward the not-so-sane side). Some of your fellow New Yorkers have (GASP) actually visited out of state and ventured into states where their permit is honored and found "prohibited" premisses to be inconvienent but not an impossible restriction.

Not sure we KNOW how her weapon was stored in her handbag. Or even if it ACTUALLY contained any ammunition. As you know, in NY, handgun + ammunition that fits = loaded firearm and in NYC possession of a "loaded firearm" = intent to illegally harm another. Hence, prosecutors can say with a straight face that they are not "overcharging" the offense. The "what if" that never happened has no bearing on the case. "What If" New York and New York City honored ALL carry permits?

If New York's concealed carry permitting process is so great, why do four of the five states that border New York NOT honor a New York permit? Vermont is the only bordering state to honor a New York permit -- in fact they honor permits from EVERY state.
 
It makes more sense to forgive someone who doesn't know all the particular nuances of a state like Tennessee then it is to forgive someone who doesn't know their Tennessee permit isn't valid anyplace in NYS. How the hell is she going to pass the medical boards if she can't read a simple chart about gun permits?
 
Here in Tulsa Oklahoma It's just about the same dirty little plea deals I kept being offered when I first was charged with a felony pointing a firearm. After seven Months of rejecting their plea deals, it was reduced to a misdemeanor pointing a firearm. again more plea deals and again they were rejected. Went to trial and was found not guilty. Seems the same dirty little plea dealings are used after charging someone first with a felony to scare the hell out of them.
This lady like so many others just took what she feels is the easy way out. I think everyone should fight them until the bitter end.
Here in Tulsa Oklahoma our Tulsa District Attorney Tim Harris and his merry bunch of prosecutors gave me a real nasty dragging through the justice system, but they lost their case. I advise people if you did no wrong don't take a plea deal saying you did something even if it seems a better choice. It's admitting your guilty.
 
rifleshooter474 said:
Here in Tulsa Oklahoma It's just about the same dirty little plea deals I kept being offered when I first was charged with a felony pointing a firearm. After seven Months of rejecting their plea deals, it was reduced to a misdemeanor pointing a firearm. again more plea deals and again they were rejected. Went to trial and was found not guilty. Seems the same dirty little plea dealings are used after charging someone first with a felony to scare the hell out of them.
This lady like so many others just took what she feels is the easy way out. I think everyone should fight them until the bitter end.
Here in Tulsa Oklahoma our Tulsa District Attorney Tim Harris and his merry bunch of prosecutors gave me a real nasty dragging through the justice system, but they lost their case. I advise people if you did no wrong don't take a plea deal saying you did something even if it seems a better choice. It's admitting your guilty.
Click to expand...

Not familiar with the particulars of your case, and frankly it is not relevant to this thread. The problem the lady had in this case is that she DID do something wrong. She failed to do her research and/or comprehend the laws where she was traveling with a concealed handgun. She disclosed her failure to comply with the law to an individual who was in a position to do something about her non-compliance with the law. This is what got her into trouble.

This situation would be like street pharmacist walking up to a police officer and saying "Officer, the drugs I have in my backpack are legal in [insert foreign country where drugs are legal]. I wasn't aware that they were illegal here in America, so I would like to check them in with you for safe keeping." Do you really think the police officer is simply gonna say "Sure thing my friend, I'll get them back to you when you're ready to head out."?

The lady failed to do what a responsible gun owner would do and figure out what is and is not "legal" where she was planning on traveling. To compound her initial error, she admitted her crime to a law enforcement officer rather than taking appropriate corrective action. She could have simply returned to her vehicle and properly stowed her firearm, however she made a bad decision and instead outed herself to a law enforcement officer.

It has been said numerous times that "Ignorance of the law is not an excuse".
 
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