Looks like I'm not in any trouble at all.

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roguetek

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All of this happened in Mid-May.

I am a disabled vet being treated for PTSD and ADD. About 1 months ago, I had a medication change.

On Tuesday, I went to the range. like any other day at the range, I put my pistol in my glove box when I was done ( a practice I am planning on discontinuing ). for some reason, I forgot to take my pistol back out.

On Wed, I puttered around with guns most of the day.

On Thursday, I was running late for my VA appt, so I threw on 'yesturday's pants' and ran out the door.

I'm checking into the VA, and I'm getting wieghed. While thinking about my wiehgt, I notice there is something heavy in one of my pockets.

Without thinking about it, or looking, I fish the heavy object out of my pocket and hand it to the nurse.

The heavy object was a fully loaded 10 round .45 magazine.

The police were called, and they asked me if I had a gun in the car. I said "no, I dont think so."

They asked if they could search the car. I agreed, because I figured that if I said no, they would hold me and get a warrent, and besides, there wasnt anything in the car anyhow, right?

turns out when I went to the range ( remember the range? ) I never took the pistol out of the car.

Now at no time did I do anything 'threatening', no did anyone I spoke with seem concerned that I might be dangerous. Stupid maybe, but not dangerous.

The police officer wrote me up for "having a firearm on federal property", and let me go.

He did ask me to check in with the mental health folks, and I said 'sure, let's go.'
The mental health folks were very interested in the medication changes, and asked me to take a drug test to verify what I was taking. I said 'sure'.

The tests will show that I was following my doctors orders, and that I was not taking anything -other- than what I was instructed to take.

The doctor -immediately, put me back on my old meds ( I can live with the side effects, there not that bad. )

The cops were very nice, and said that they were going to note in the report that I was 'friendly, compliant, and harmless.'

The US Attny finally got in touch with me, agreed the whole thing was fairly trivial, and offered me a 100.00 fine, and he would write a note to the police department in question, requesting the return of my hardware. Needless to say, I took it.

So simply by 'playing nice' the whole thing went from 6 months to a year in jail and 5 to 10 thousand dollars in fines, to 'gimmie a hundred bucks, and dont do it again.'

:)

Now we get to see if the local police cheif wants to play ball. personally, I think he will.
 
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What is the official charge going to be? Nothing that affects your right to carry I hope. It must be a huge relief to have this done with, glad to see it worked reasonably well for you.
 
The official charge isnt even a charge apparently. It's sort of the federal equivalent fo a parking ticket.

the UA said something about 'carrying a firearm in a national park ( which is federal property ) which is apparently a 100 dollar fine, sort of like littering.

But yeah, it's all done, -NO- dings to my 2A rights, and the UA is even going to write a letter to the police chief telling him to give my my gear back. I just hope the 'evidence room mice' didnt eat anything...
 
They could have dropped the 'Franklin' as well, but I guess the gubment never passes up the opportunity to make some extra $$.
 
...and this is why you don't consent to searches of your vehicle.

If you're going to figure "If I don't agree, they'll just get a warrant anyway", then we don't have a Fourth Amendment any more.

A loaded magazine on you is not PC to search your car.
 
RogueTek - I believe I commented a couple times with your original thread on this back when it happened.

I felt really bad as it was a really bad situation to be in and unfortunate given that you had no mal intent.

I'm really glad that you got off with just a fine, and not a terribly large fine at that (I don't think I've ever had a speeding ticket that cost less than $100).

Any word on whether there was going to be anything permanent on your record that might affect your ability to carry? Or just whether or not this would affect your CWP at all?

Jnojr - "A loaded magazine on you is not PC to search your car."

Unfortunately I'll bet that on federal property it would be considered more than PC.
 
...and this is why you don't consent to searches of your vehicle.

And if he hadn't, and they did, in fact, get a warrant, I doubt they would have settled the issue so lightly.
 
Freedom?

And people wonder if this is a free country or not :banghead:
This whole no guns on fed property is a horrible law, which turns honest citizens into criminals. And please don't start on the whole "ignorance of the law is no excuse". That's BS. It is SCARY when a honest person can get into a deep trouble with the government, by simply being somewhere. No matter the lack of any cruel intentions what so ever.

This my friends, is by definition, a police state. I know, i spent 17 years living in one.
 
$100? No problem. Better than lawyer fees and emotional distress of going to trial and all that crap. Move on and keep away from the spotlight.
 
To be honest, when I walked into the Hospital with a loaded magazine in my pocket, I committed a crime. purely by accident, but does not change the fact that handing a loaded magazine to a VA nurse is pretty much an open and shut case, 6 months, 5000 dollar fine if they are so inclined.

And after checking with a 2A lawyer, yes, a magazine full of ammo -is- PC to search the car. So by law, I would have been looking at another 6 months and another 5000 dollars.

And quite bluntly, the 4th Amendmant -is- dead as a stone.

So, be a hardass get a min of 6 months in the can, 5k in fines, and -dont- get your gun back.

play nice, get a dinky fine, and no more troubles...
 
on a related note, -everyone- I've dealt with so far, had been polite, professional, and sympathetic. I love Maine...2A is still resepected here.
 
perhaps so.

but waving my dick at those in power isnt going to get me anywhere except a small room, and lotsa fines. you can feel free to do so however. I'll be over here, watching...
 
On a related note, knowing some of the Veterans I -have- met at the VA hospital ( the ones that -live- there. ), I have to say, keeping weapons and drugs off campus is a -good idea-. Some of those poor bastards are decidedly unstable, and guns/ammo/weapons/liqour/weed/what-have-you should be kept at a goodly distance from them.

and to be honest, The idea of some poor bastard getting stoned, getting a weapon and deciding to re-enact Omaha Beach/Kee Sahn/The Tet offensive scares the crap out of me. They might be nuts, bot I get the feeling it doesnt bother thier aim much.
 
Roguetek,

I remembered your original post and wondered if anything came of this. I'm glad to see everything got resolved without any drama. You're a very lucky guy.

Best,

Steve
 
Yeah, Rogue, acting nice and polite tends
1. to lead to others (cops and prosecutors) to think you are probably a nice person who made an honest mistake (and not some dangerous wackjob),
2. to lead them to act nice and polite to you in return, and
3. to getting you a pretty good deal.

Congrats.

Or you could resist the constitution violatin' jackbooted Nazi pig thugs with every ounce of your energy on principal and see where that lands you. (That's sarcasm BTW.)
 
Yup That pretty much sums it up Nemoaz.

My recent dealings with law enforcement ( at least in Maine....) show me that these guys just arent intersted in disarming the 'honest johns'. The US Attourney I dealt with told me to get a CCW, flat out.
 
Congrats, I'm glad you didn't end up with 2500 new roommates for the next 12 months.

Take a deep breathe and relax now!
 
"when I walked into the Hospital with a loaded magazine in my pocket, I committed a crime"


I must have missed it, but what crime is this??

And this was a Veterans Hospital -- Like for those that served in wars, with guns and bombs, etc? Anybody else see the irony here?
 
I must have missed it, but what crime is this??
I don't know the specific citation, but I'm sure ammunition is prohibited on federal property somewhere in the code of federal regulations, which have the force of law. Violation of CFR will bring you in front of a federal magistrate.

TC
 
What's interesting is that the cop just "wrote you up" for possession, but since he was not a federal agent, he couldn't arrest you on violations for federal regulations, right? How did the information get to the US Attorney? Do local DAs pass this stuff up as they sift through the reports?
 
I am rooting for you and the continued good result. But if I were you, I would not take off the chastity belt yet.
 
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