Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: Tampa Criminal Attorneys
Profession: Tampa Defense Attorneys

Category: Criminal Law

The client was a juvenile attending Hillsborough High School. He had aspirations of enlisting in the armed forces when he was arrested by a Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy for possession of a firearm on School Grounds and Minor in possession of a firearm. He received a call from his cousin at Franklin Middle School. His cousin asked him to come pick him and his friend up because they were almost jumped by two other kids. When the client picked up his cousin he had his friend with him. His cousin's friend got into his car with a backpack. The client noticed that both his cousin and his friend were toying with two guns (Kahr MK9 pistol containing 5 hollow point 9 millimeter rounds; and a .44 magnum Ruger, super Blackhawk pistol with two .44 caliber rounds loaded in it) in the back seat of the car. He told the boys to leave the guns in the car, and he drove to school. Law enforcement became aware of the altercation at Franklin Middle School and tracked down our client's car in the Hillsborough High School parking lot. Once they connected the car to our client they conducted a search which revealed the guns.

Cooperation with Law Enforcement Sometimes a Good Thing

The State Attorney realized that we were about to file Motions to Suppress the Firearms as evidence in the case. A number of possible illegal search issues surrounded the police officer's investigation. The prosecutor chose to nolle prosse (dismiss) the charges against our client in the hopes of receiving his cooperation. It worked and the client testified against the other two co-defendants. Everyone subpoenaed to testify in court is required to attend and obviously testify truthfully. However, many times the non-appearance of a witness is not going to allow the State to continue the case. It usually means they will go without the witness at trial. Sometimes that witness is critical to their case. Here, our client was cooperative from beginning to end and only held the guns to keep them away from the younger boys. While his testimony was not critical it was extremely important to the State. If you have any questions about gun charges or the legality of a search conducted by the police you can call us at 813-228-7095 or link to us at Tampa Criminal Attorney.