aiming or discharging a firearm

[1Mistake]

I live in Washington State.

A year ago on 4th of July I discharged a firearm "as a form of celebration" or so the police record says. My roommate's girlfriend at the time and some of her friends joined me.

The police responded about an hour later and we didn't tell them anything. They did find shell casings and took them as evidence. The next morning different officers came to the house and at first we did not tell them anything. Then the girlfriend let it out, so eventually they got me on the record as saying I had done this. At this time they confiscated the gun (a shotgun) and remaining shotgun shells (unspent, for matching purposes).

I didn't hear anything for a long time so I called for information. I was transferred to voice mail and my message was not returned. That happened several times. About 2 weeks ago I was finally able to talk to someone, the prosecutor, and he said he would see what information he could find. He took my phone number but never called back, and last week I received notice of arraignment happening this thursday the 28th. I can't help but think that if I had not been persistent in retreiving the gun (it belonged to my roomate's father, who had passed away a few months prior to this), then the year would have passed with no charges filed.

After the incident I learned that my friend was either a convicted felon or had been charged with a felony. So he is not allowed to own guns. However, given the circumstances in which he received his guns (his dad died, and he had been selling them) I hope the court will be lenient about this. He was not present at the time of the incident.

I have a squeaky clean record. I have a good job but I do not have money to throw around so I have not hired a lawyer. I have had good results in the past with minor traffic tickets in defending myself. Am I wrong in doing this? Is it more serious than I think? My statements in the courtroom would focus on:

*the witness identifying me from 100 yards away at 1am with little light, from behind and above my position
*although there are fingerprints on the gun, they cannot prove I fired it that night
*I fired the gun into the air, purposefully away from any person or property
*the unwillingness of the police/court to provide me with any information about the case. I know they cannot give legal advice but they can tell me what is going on. Also, the long delay (1 year) followed by a very sudden arraignment.

I want to get this over with so I am hoping to plead guilty, pay a fine, retrieve the firearm and get on with life. Is my statement evidence enough that I did commit the crime? If not, I assume my fingerprints are all over the gun and shells but they did not ever take my prints. If my statement is enough to prove I did it, I will have to plead guilty. If not, should I plead innocent? Will this drag on for another year?

The maximum punishment for a misdemeanor far exceeds what I would expect for what I did. I think it is $5000 and/or 90 days in jail. Being a first time offender, I just don't know what to expect.

Please offer any help you might have, thanks!

 

[tinker29]

What part of Washington are u from?

 

[Curt581]

Ever heard of gravity?

You know, what goes UP must come DOWN?

Firing a gun not only makes a loud BANG noise, but bullets come out. They're really really fast, so you can't see them, but they do. They have to land somewhere. Would you like to be in the area where they come down?

You are a complete idiot. Hopefully, you'll learn something in Jail, but I doubt it.

No, you will NOT get the shotgun back. It will be destroyed when it's no longer needed as evidence.

 

[1Mistake]

Ever heard of gravity?

You know, what goes UP must come DOWN?

Firing a gun not only makes a loud BANG noise, but bullets come out. They're really really fast, so you can't see them, but they do. They have to land somewhere. Would you like to be in the area where they come down?

You are a complete idiot. Hopefully, you'll learn something in Jail, but I doubt it.

No, you will NOT get the shotgun back. It will be destroyed when it's no longer needed as evidence.

I may be an idiot, but you are rude. You do not know me, so do not pass judgement on what I have done. I admit to making a mistake but I am not here to be berated. I am asking for legal advice which you have not given.

Yes I understand gravity AND physics. The police officer said that firing a gun into the air causes the projectiles to come down at the same rate they were fired out of the gun. This is WRONG. Shotguns are short range weapons and buckshot will have a high wind resistance so it will be slowed down quite a bit when it comes down. If I had fired a long range rifle there would be a big problem, but I didn't. I fired in the general direction of a RIVER. Don't cry bleeding heart for any fish either, millions are killed by hydroelectric dams and no one gets in trouble for that.

This incident happened around Woodinville but I live elsewhere now. Bothell police reported. I would still appreciate any help or information about what to expect/what to do about this. Does the court usually give only 1 week notice? If they were going to lock me up why didn't they do that A YEAR AGO?

 

[corrupt copper]

I may be an idiot, but you are rude. You do not know me, so do not pass judgement on what I have done. I admit to making a mistake but I am not here to be berated. I am asking for legal advice which you have not given.

get used to it. this board used to be a nice place, but lately the responses have been rude and trivial as you can see.


as to your situation......you know the saying "anyone who represents himself in court has afool for a client".....something like that lol

 

[CdwJava]

What is the code section you are being charged with violating? This will help in determining if this is a potentially jailable offense or not.

My suggestion would be to hire an attorney or, if you can't afford one, ask for a public defender.

Oh, and firing toward the river is also not a bright idea as there might be people down there. Having seen the results of bullets and gravity, I can tell you that this sort of folly DOES kill. And when bullets fall, they reach terminal velocity - a rate in excess of 200 MPH (no, I am NOT going to do all the math here) ... a speed sufficient to punch through a roof, the top of a truck, through a man's skull and torso, and imbed itself several inches into the ground.


- Carl

 

[1Mistake]

the code is 9.41.230. Here is the applicable part:

"(1) For conduct not amounting to a violation of chapter 9A.36 RCW, any person who:
(a) Aims any firearm, whether loaded or not, at or towards any human being;
(b) Willfully discharges any firearm, air gun, or other weapon, or throws any deadly missile in a public place, or in any place where any person might be endangered thereby. A public place shall not include any location at which firearms are authorized to be lawfully discharged; or
(c) Except as provided in RCW 9.41.185, sets a so-called trap, spring pistol, rifle, or other dangerous weapon,

although no injury results, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor punishable under chapter 9A.20 RCW."

Here is what it says about gross misdemeanor in 9A.20:

"(2) Gross misdemeanor. Every person convicted of a gross misdemeanor defined in Title 9A RCW shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a maximum term fixed by the court of not more than one year, or by a fine in an amount fixed by the court of not more than five thousand dollars, or by both such imprisonment and fine."

It says jail time or fine or both. I just don't know what to expect based on my otherwise clean record. I am a homeowner, I pay my taxes and report to jury duty instead of coming up with some excuse. That doesn't make me innocent of this charge, but I am totally law abiding other than this one incident so I am hoping for leniency.

Thanks Carl for the info. I still find it unlikely that a piece of buckshot could kill someone at that kind of range, but I agree that I could have endangered people which I may not have been aware of. The river in question has no beach access so the chance of people being down there is unlikely (admittedly, not guaranteed).

What financial circumstances prevent a person from being appointed a lawyer? I do make a good salary that puts me in the middle class and I own a home. But paying the mortgage leaves little in the bank account. I have good credit.

Sounds like I will need a lawyer after all.

 

[Crazed98]

Anyone that has gone bird hunting in NJ would know that falling buckshot might hurt a little but will not kill anyone.

I have been hit several times by a**holes shooting at birds in the middle of the field when I was directly on the opposite side it is scary and technically unsafe but you will not get hurt. I would honestly rather get hit by some falling buckshot then getting shot with a bb gun.

 

[racer72]

As someone that found a bullet hole in the roof of my 66 GTO on the 5th of July a few years ago, you won't get any sympathy from me. Thankfully my insurance company picked up the $1100 tab for the repairs.

 

[CdwJava]

Anyone that has gone bird hunting in NJ would know that falling buckshot might hurt a little but will not kill anyone.

I have been hit several times by a**holes shooting at birds in the middle of the field when I was directly on the opposite side it is scary and technically unsafe but you will not get hurt. I would honestly rather get hit by some falling buckshot then getting shot with a bb gun.

It MIGHT not cause great damage, but it certainly CAN. And since it is a completely preventable action it is unwise, unsafe, and unlawful.

I live in a locale where hunting is a way of life and it is not uncommon to hear about disfiguring injuries once in a while from the dumb discharge of a firearm - even birdshot.

- Carl

 

[Crazed98]

It MIGHT not cause great damage, but it certainly CAN. And since it is a completely preventable action it is unwise, unsafe, and unlawful.

I live in a locale where hunting is a way of life and it is not uncommon to hear about disfiguring injuries once in a while from the dumb discharge of a firearm - even birdshot.

- Carl

No doubt what he did was extremly unsafe, shooting off a shotgun at a party. It just seemed like most of the focus was on him shooting into the air was unsafe.

 

[CdwJava]

It just seemed like most of the focus was on him shooting into the air was unsafe.

It was! You can't reasonably say that it WAS safe.

If you can't treat a firearm with the respect it deserves (instead of as a noisy party favor) then you have no business possessing one.

- Carl

 

[Crazed98]

LOL thats what I am saying weather or not he shot in into the air, ground, or whatever it is unsafe.

Shooting it into the air doesn't make it anymore dangerous or worse.

 

[CdwJava]

LOL thats what I am saying weather or not he shot in into the air, ground, or whatever it is unsafe.

Shooting it into the air doesn't make it anymore dangerous or worse.

Even without the parties in the immediate area, it is a dangerous and unsafe act that is criminal everywhere that I know of.

Firing it off anywhere is unsafe. It doesn't matter that it was birdshot or even a slug.

- Carl

 

[1Mistake]

Thanks for the replies. I was able to contact the court today to get more information, and it's a good thing I did, cause somehow I had spaced out on what day of the week it was. My court date was actually today, but they did not issue a warrant for my arrest. Instead they rescheduled the arraignment for July 12th.

Now the question is: will the statute of limitations prevent me from being punished? The event will have happened over a year prior to the arraignment, but are charges "brought" when they mail the initial summons or when they officially read them to me in the courtroom?

If statute of limitations does protect me, is there any chance of retrieving the firearm? Will I be able to retrieve it otherwise?

As far as whether or not this was dangerous, I'm not going to argue. I will say that I've learned my lesson already... having to talk to the police even once was enough to deter me from ever doing anything like this again.