Last week I completed a successful trial involving the allegation of a First Degree Assault by pointing a handgun during a road rage incident. This is the second type case this year. The first involved just showing and not pointing a gun. Last week’s involved having a cell phone in a hand. Now, I am old fashioned. If someone tailgates me or cuts me off, I just give them the finger. My hands are small enough that my middle finger could not be mistaken for a gun.
Now that gun permits are readily accessible more people carry guns in their car than ever before. As a result, people think they see a gun when it is just a large cell phone being waved in a hand, because there is no bluetooth in the car, as people are cursing at each other The client last week never had a gun but the Complainant believed he did. Because my client got out of his car to talk to the Complainant twice about why he beeped at him, and had nothing in his hand, there was no reason to believe the original object was a gun. Additionally, he was talking on the phone when the incident began.
Now my client had a carry permit and owned guns, but the testimony was clear he did not utilize his permit after a few months after obtaining it. Carrying the gun was not comfortable and leaving it in the car was a poor option. It was also needed for his wife at home to defend herself in case of an intruder as she could not access the gun safe where all the other guns were stored.
My client was indicted for also carrying a gun in his car, even though he had a carry permit. Neither the charging officer nor the detective who executed the warrant to seize his guns ever bothered to check if he had a permit. Instead, someone swore under oath to a Grand Jury that he couldn’t carry a gun in the car. Neither of them could say who lied, but both denied testifying at the Grand Jury, and admitted they never checked. He even had the permit on his person when arrested, and I had him take it out of wallet to introduce into evidence during the trial.
Many parts of the Complainant’s story did not hold up. He had my client exiting his car with the gun and standing at the intersection of Red Run Blvd. and Owings Mills Blvd. at 9:00 in the morning. He said people went crazy when they saw it. Well NO ONE called 911 because he didn’t do that. He claimed my guy backed into him and then hit him on the passenger side with his car. He retracted both on the stand, and the police officer challenged him about the passenger damage as she said my client’s vehicle was on his driver’s side during each episode based on the story he told her at his house. The 911 tape recorded my client as not threatening him, but asking for an apology for nearly being driven over the median strip into oncoming traffic. NO THREATS to kill or offer to fight. The Complainant’s girlfriend even managed to circumvent the time/space continuum developed by Einstein, when she told the police office that she was FaceTiming the Complainant at 9:37 in the morning and heard the cursing. She looked right at her phone and said 9:37. The 911 tape ended at 9:31 with the Complainant driving away from the scene, never to encounter my client again, and therefore neither did his girlfriend. I LOVE body camera footage.
Now the officer was helpful but she then decided she wanted to fight with me. I have Blogged before that this never works for the police officer. There were 3 trainees in court who I wanted to tell that if they learned anything in this trial, it is not to fight with the defense attorney. Unfortunately they left with the officer. I was given a transcript of the officer/Complainant/girlfriend interview. The officer said she watched HER Body Camera footage 2 hours before testifying. Every time I found something good she said she didn’t remember. She didn’t want to even acknowledge that what was transcribed was accurate. I told her we would “share” the next 20 minutes together watching her Body Camera tape to find the spot I pointed out in the transcript if that would get her to admit what was written was what was said. At that point she surrendered and agreed the transcript was accurate but she had no present recollection of it. Pathetic!! Anyway I got in what I needed and it destroyed the Complainant’s credibility- the officers as well.
I actually had my client testify, which is usually a sign of defense attorney premature brain death. In this case it was 100% necessary and he was an excellent witness. Ultimately he was acquitted. Now he is entitled to a return of his property. I have left 2 messages for the seizing detective but have yet to get a call back. That is the norm when they lose a case and have to give stuff back. If I don’t hear back next week, I’ll send her what she will call a nasty email “encouraging” her to give everything back. The last detective I had to do this with took great umbrage at my insistence he give back what he was supposed to. I told him I didn’t “care” about his umbrage (my word not his) and give it back. He did.