New York Criminal Lawyer BlogSaland Law is proud to share a pro-bono client’s non-criminal disposition after her arrest in Manhattan and subsequent charge of Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, New York Penal Law 265.03. A legal firearm owner who possessed a conceal carry permit in her home state, our client had inadvertently left her small, but loaded, .22 pistol in her large bag when she drove to New York City for an event honoring a family member’s volunteerism. Unfortunately, when private security scanned the bag upon her entrance into a building frequented by tourists, the search revealed the firearm in her bag and the security officers called the NYPD who placed our client under arrest.
Articles Posted in Weapon Possession
JFK & LaGuardia Airport Weapon Arrests & Summons Update: Saland Law Secures Firearm & Other Weapon Dismissals & Non-Criminal Violations
Any attorney who holds him or herself out as a New York firearm lawyer or an airport weapon attorney, and serves clients arrested or issued summonses in Queens County’s JFK or LaGuardia Airport for weapon possession crimes, must have more than a basic legal and practical knowledge of how these offenses are prosecuted, how to identify the right strategies, and the best means to implement the strongest defense. Why is that? While it is not atypical for the Port Authority Police to arrest travelers for crimes including both misdemeanor and felony Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance for possessing heroin or cocaine in checked luggage or carry-on bag, the most serious offenses often involve criminal possession of a firearm, and to a lesser extent, batons, brass knuckles, knives, ammunition, and other weapons. Whether your baton, knuckles or ammunition was inadvertently left in your carry-on bag screened by TSA, or, even worse, you thought you were abiding by the law and doing the right thing when you declared your otherwise legally owned pistol or revolver to a TSA agent or airline employee when you were checking your luggage, the immediate and collateral long-term ramifications are as potentially severe as they are career and life altering.
With the above in mind, Saland Law is please to share that over this past summer, north of ten different clients charged with Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon (Penal Law 265.03), Criminal Possession of a Firearm (Penal Law 265.01-b(1)), Fourth Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon (Penal Law 265.01), and Unlawful/Criminal Possession of Ammunition (NYC Administrative Code 10-131) all had their cases dismissed or walked away with non-criminal violations. What started as a missed flight and trip to Queens County Central Booking, being printed and released with a Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), or finding themselves with a pink criminal summons in hand, not a one of these men and women ended up with a criminal record. Instead, each of them moved forward in their respective lives and careers without a blemish.
Saland Law Secures Mistrial for “Empty Chair” Client Before Jury Hangs in Loaded Firearm Trial
There are few things more difficult as a criminal defense attorney than representing an “empty chair” at trial where that chair, or, better stated, client, is accused of possessing a loaded and disguised “cell phone” gun in a vehicle he is driving without any passengers. OK, well, maybe that is surmountable, but throw in the fact that the evidence before the jury demonstrated that the accused’s DNA was on both the firearm trigger and grip, and that he had what police called a “holster”, things tick up in difficulty. Sound insurmountable? Well, you’d be wrong if you said “Yes”, but that is not all Saland Law faced in defense of a client standing trial for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Penal Law 265.03. In fact, there is much more…
Saland Law Sees Uptick in Arrests & Summonses for Gun, Knife, Baton & Ammunition Crimes at JFK & LaGuardia Airports
Over the past year alone, Saland Law, PC, a New York criminal defense firm, has represented well north of two dozen clients arrested, given Desk Appearance Tickets (DATs), or given pink summonses or tickets by police officers with the Port Authority Police Department for a litany of New York weapon crimes at Queens’ LaGuardia and JFK Airports. During that time, we have seen, and continue to see, what appears to be an uptick in law abiding people being charged with violating Penal Law Article 265 or the NYC Administrative Code for not just guns and knives, but “weapons” as innocent as batons.
Whether a client has a loaded or unloaded firearm, baton, switch blade, brass knuckles, or even one single bullet, the common thread across these cases is that either the individual was unaware possessing these items was criminal in New York State when they attempted to check the weapon, even if they legally possessed it elsewhere, or they had no idea the contraband in question was in their bag when they were screened by TSA agents. Regardless of the reason and no matter whether they are taken into custody or given an NYC Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), these otherwise law-abiding citizens find themselves charged with misdemeanors or felonies.
Prosecutors Dismiss Loaded Firearm Felony Against Promising Young Attorney in Interest of Justice After Client Accused of Brandishing Loaded Weapon
Usually, one of the first questions clients ask me in my capacity as a criminal defense lawyer after they have been arrested by the NYPD or Port Authority Police for possessing a loaded firearm is, “What is the penalty is for carrying a gun in New York City?” and “How long do you go to jail for having a gun in New York even if you have a conceal carry permit in [Texas, Florida, North Carolina, Connecticut, Virginia…]?”. While a conviction for Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Penal Law 265.03, can saddle you with a sentence for as long as 15 years in prison, with a compulsory minimum of three and a half years if the firearm is “loaded” (bullets needn’t be in the weapon for it to be “loaded” as a matter of law”), a judge can hand down punishment of up to four years behind bars for Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Penal Law 265.01-b(1), even when there is no ammunition at all.
With this type of exposure in mind, Saland Law is incredibly grateful, though not as much as our client after her arrest for Penal Law 265.03, prosecutors took the time to truly review what I presented, examine our client’s case, and advance the matter for dismissal in the interest of justice. While a non-criminal Disorderly Conduct violation or Adjournment in Contemplation (ACD) of dismissal after six months would have been considered a “win” assuming there was no legal impediment to the case, such as in cases I have handled in Queens County where unknowing travelers checked their firearms with the TSA at either JFK or LaGuardia Airport, and downward departures and re-pleaders to non-criminal pleas in other counties such as Manhattan and elsewhere, Brooklyn prosecutors went the extra mile to make an objectively just decision on a case that appeared ugly if one did not do one’s “homework”.
The LaGuardia and JFK Penal Law Article 265 “No Fly List”: From Batons and Brass Knuckles to Switchblades and Firearms
When Queens criminal lawyers think of the “no fly list”, they very well might think of something other than individuals the government doesn’t want in or around an airplane or airport, whether JK, LaGuardia, or elsewhere. Instead of a list consisting of people, criminal defense attorneys have a different list – one consisting of Penal Law 265.01, 265.01-b(1), and 265.03, among other weapon crimes codified in Article 265. If you are unfortunate enough to find yourself under arrest by the Port Authority Police, your Desk Appearance Ticket (DAT), or the criminal court papers in the event you unlawfully possessed a firearm and are hauled into Central Booking, will reveal your particular charges. Ranging from misdemeanor Fourth Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Penal Law 265.01(1), for batons, knuckles, and switch blades, to the far more serious Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Penal Law 265.03, for a loaded and unlicensed firearm, remember…ignorance of the law is no defense.
New York Ghost Gun Crimes: Penal Law 265.01(9) & Related Criminal Possession of a Weapon Felonies
Even before New York codified its “ghost gun” specific crime through Penal Law 265.01(9), any criminal lawyer, prosecutor, or judge would likely tell you that New York State had, and has, some of the strictest firearm laws on the books. In fact, possessing an unlicensed and loaded firearm outside your home or place of business, whether on your person, in your car, or even carried in the hard sided case you are checking your out-of-state licensed pistol at JFK or LaGuardia Airport in Queens, is a class “C” violent felony pursuant to Penal Law 265.03. Punishable by a mandatory minimum of 3.5 years in prison no matter if you have a conceal carry permit elsewhere and no intent to use it a criminally, Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon is one of the most serious illegal gun offenses in the state but by no means the only one. With the proliferation of homemade guns, rifles, and shotguns, aka, “ghost guns”, constructed with frames purchased online or crafted from 3D printers, New York District Attorneys and police departments, including the NYPD, now have multiple weapons in their arsenal to enforce the law and ensure compliance with the criminal code.
Understanding New York Penal Law 265.01-e & 265.01-d: Sensitive & Restricted Locations
New York, like other states, has its own criminal statutes that regulate the possession of guns. These offenses are generally found in Penal Law Article 265. While some have been on the books for decades, others are more recent additions. Two of these crimes, Penal Law 265.01-e, Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Rifle or Shotgun in a Sensitive Location, and 265.01-d, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in a Restricted Location, went into effect on September 1, 2022. Whether these class “E” felonies stand the test of time and legal challenges, criminal defense attorneys and everyday people residing in or visiting New York City, the Hudson Valley, or elsewhere in the state should have a basic understanding of these laws to best ensure they avoid arrest, prosecution, and as long as four years in prison.
New York Firearm Lawyer Secures Non-Criminal Violation & Future Dismissal for Two Out-of-State Licensed Gun Owners Charged with PL 265.03
Having both prosecuted individuals as a Manhattan Assistant District Attorney and defended clients arrested and charged with Penal Law 265.03, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, as a New York gun possession lawyer, I have learned over the past 22 years that New York’s firearm laws can be unforgiving. For the uninformed, which there are many, the New York Penal Law does not differentiate between unlawfully possessing a loaded firearm – pistols, glocks, revolvers – outside your home or place of business that you illegally bought on the street or stole, from one otherwise lawfully possessed out of state but carried on your person in New York without the requisite license or permit here. Simply, even if there are other potential charges, in the eyes of New York law, there is no difference between holstering that back alley loaded gun in your waistband and walking around Brooklyn and declaring that same .9 mm to an airline representative or TSA agent, along with your out-of-state permit, before flying out of Queens’ JFK or LaGuardia Airport believing you are following proper protocols. Taken a step further, whether there is a bullet chambered in either scenario or the ammunition is in a case but not in the actual gun, the weapon may nonetheless be considered loaded.
With the above background in mind, Saland Law is pleased to share two separate results for clients arrested for Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, aka, CPW 4, in Manhattan.
ACD Dismissal of Firearm Possession, Dismissal of Allegations in Order of Protection Petition, & Presentation of Case to DA After NYPD Takes No Action
This past week proved busy for the attorneys at Saland Law PC and demonstrative of the multiple hats we wear as criminal defense lawyers, Family Court lawyers, and victim advocates. Secured a future dismissal and return of an heirloom firearm belonging to a client after a felony arrest? Yes. Successfully argued for the dismissal of multiple allegations in an Article 8 Family Offense petition seeking an Order of Protection? Yes, again. Successfully presented a case to a District Attorney’s Office for investigation and prosecution? Yes, once more.