“Not Guilty” Verdict On Possession Of Gun With Intent To Use Avoiding Mandatory Minimum 3 ½ Year Sentence

A Queens Supreme Court Judge acquitted our client of all Felony charges regarding possession of illegal handguns in his apartment wherein there was an accidental discharge and a bullet entered a neighbor’s apartment. Our client was given the gun by a friend for self-defense purposes and was unloading it when it discharged into the apartment below. The police arrived, saw the bullet hole in the ceiling, went to our client’s apartment, searched the apartment and obtained two hand guns for which the Defendant did not have a license. He was arrested for Two Counts Criminal Possession of a Weapon with Intent to Use and Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree. The District Attorney of Queens County, relying on the Statutory Presumption of “Intent to Use”, charged the Defendant with a Class “C” Felony which mandated a mandatory minimum 3 ½ years if convicted. Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg filed a Motion arguing that the Defendant’s Constitutional Second Amendment Right to Possess Arms was violated by the application of the presumption of possession to the weapons which were in the Defendant’s home. Although the Judge denied the Motion, in acquitting our client, the Judge found that the Defendant overcame the presumption of “intent to use” and that the People failed to prove that element beyond the reasonable doubt, finding the Defendant guilty of a Class “A” Misdemeanor of Possession of a Firearm in his home. Significantly, Mr. Greenberg and Addabbo and Greenberg Associate, Caitlyn Young, did extensive research and presented every case to the Court where the presumption of “Intent to Use” was applied and distinguished the case at bar. Also significant, an Element of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree is that the Defendant acted with a “Depraved Indifference to Human Life”, and the Court held that the People failed to prove that element beyond the Reasonable Doubt. Based upon Mr. Greenberg’s knowledge of the law, his extensive Trial experience and persistence and dedication on behalf of his client, our client was found “NOT GUILTY” of all Felony charges, and his exposure for punishment has been limited to that of a person convicted of a Misdemeanor crime. If you are charged with a serious crime, call Queens Criminal Defense Attorney Todd Greenberg for the best result at 718-268-0400 or reach us at www.addabboandgreenberg.com.