And this is what's wrong with MD

[WARPIG [USMC]]

A little slap on the wrist for breaking a firearms law. $10 Fine.

 

[Drmsparks]

A little slap on the wrist for breaking a firearms law. $10 Fine.

maybe. I see no mention of a crime, or that the firearm was illegally obtained.

Could he have stopped for coffee on the way home from the range and the cop felt like being a dick?

We don't know.

 

[INMY01TA]

Personally I don't see what he did as a crime. Unconstitutional laws and all, unless he's a prohibited person.

 

[justjcarr]

Agreed - your making a lot of assumptions with little real information. It could be a gross abuse of laws that shouldn't be on the books for all we know.

*Unless of course you know for a fact this guy was dealing smack on the street corner and this was the only thing they could charge him with.*

.02

 

[Lostfantum]

Does he have any other priors?

 

[WARPIG [USMC]]

Yes I suppose I was being a bit presumptuous with my accusation. I looked into it further and it doesn't look like this guy is your typical "Baltimore class act". I kinda feel dumb, I just automatically read "Baltimore" and "Firearm" and assumed the worst.

 

[justjcarr]

Understandable. I agree with your point though. Too many laws on the books aren't enforced. Straw purchases for example are a glaring loophole...

Although the maximum federal penalty for participating in a straw purchase is a 10-year prison term, in practice sentencing guidelines call for only 2 to 2 1/2 years' imprisonment for someone caught providing as many as a dozen guns to a convicted felon. That's half the mandatory (5-year) minimum for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine.

http://www.federalobserver.com/archive.php?aid=319

With something like 80% of all firearm homicides occurring with either the victim or suspect already having a criminal record it's a safe assumption the guns aren't being purchased legally. If we make straw purchasing a serious offense we can at least drive the cost up for black market firearms. Charge a straw purchaser with the crimes perpetrated with the firearm they supplied and impose 25+ year sentences for someone caught merely supplying a criminal with a firearm.

I believe that would have a real impact.

.02

\rant

-J

 

[jrumann59]

Cop could have been a dick but I am willing to bet it was either loaded or the ammunition was easily accessible.

 

[goofy810]

That's nuts they need to enforce the current law b4 ever talking about more law

 

[Markp]

maybe. I see no mention of a crime, or that the firearm was illegally obtained.

Could he have stopped for coffee on the way home from the range and the cop felt like being a dick?

We don't know.

Well a little quick digging is all you need to learn a little more about B.M. our 24 year old African American defendant from Detriot Michigan. He hired a well respected private lawyer who in 2011 rewrote the Maryland State Police Training Manual for courtroom procedure and protocol and has over 20 years of experience. In other words, our defendant at age 24 has some serious cash.

He comes from a neighborhood where 20% of the residents have a high school education and 40% are high school dropouts. He likely graduated from Edwin Denby Technical & Preparatory High School in Detroit, MI, a school where only 20% of the 9th grade class meets educational expectations, typical of inner city blight.

His twitter account is grand representation of him, near as I can tell I have the right guy, perhaps I am wrong, but I doubt it (won't post it here but it's trivial to find). Apparently he graduated from Michigan State in 2011. His drivers license suggests he lives at his father's crib in Detroit, but he has his own crib in Saint Claire Shores.

Now he had two charges, one for the handgun in the vehicle and another for the handgun on his person (which was likely concealed is my bet). If I really believed that I would be let off with a $35 dollar fine for illegal concealed carry, I would carry without even thinking twice EVERYWHERE!!!

He got this deal, because his lawyer who specializes in drug dealers and other miscreants is top notch and undeniably gets paid well.

 

[DieHard4192]

I understand what you are getting at, but I did want to point out one thing. The defendants punishment is slightly more than just a $10.00 fine. Note it says next to Disposition it says, "PBJ Unsupervised" which stands for unsupervised Probation Before Judgement. This means the defendant is placed on probation. If he/she completes that probation without violating the conditions of said probation then they will not be convicted in the court system of the crime. PBJs are usually the result of plea deals.

We don't have the details of the case and the defendants criminal history so it's hard to pass judgement on whether this punishment is as lenient as it comes across as locking everyone up and throwing away the key for extended periods of time isn't always the best option.

 

[magnumpi]

This guy may have been guilty and got off easy or didn't deserve the charge in first place. Either way I'll bet you could find a hundreds of examples of this kind of wrist slapping handed out to people with bad records who deserve much stiffer penalties.
We need tougher enforcement of current laws not new ones.

 

[hvymax]

Understandable. I agree with your point though. Too many laws on the books aren't enforced. Straw purchases for example are a glaring loophole...


With something like 80% of all firearm homicides occurring with either the victim or suspect already having a criminal record it's a safe assumption the guns aren't being purchased legally. If we make straw purchasing a serious offense we can at least drive the cost up for black market firearms. Charge a straw purchaser with the crimes perpetrated with the firearm they supplied and impose 25+ year sentences for someone caught merely supplying a criminal with a firearm.

I believe that would have a real impact.

.02

\rant

-J

There is no Straw Purchase Loophole. A person eligable to buy a firearm purchases one totally legally. Then they choose to transfer it to someone ineligable which IS a crime for both.

 

[kalister1]

http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/...cle_954f2972-550a-5c5d-9a3a-b90be5700cee.html

Do you mean House Arrest for Armed Robbery?

 

[aethyr]

why bother redacting something that is publicly available?
or at least redact the case number as well....

 

[Joseph87']

Op that's only in Baltimore. There is not too many felony charges given out there on gun charges, rarely ever because of the area. It's kinda crazy outt there if u haven't been so I can understand but 10$ is pathetic. My buddy got 100 hrs community service when he got a gun charge in Baltimore(charged him after they towed his vehicle that they illegally searched for parking in a no parking zone).

 

[santini1228]

I have personally seen several possession of firearm charges dropped by the SAO in MoCi. Not because of legal issues with the case but because the judges and the sa 's don't like the mandatory sentencing requirements.

 

[Merlin]

Cop could have been a dick but I am willing to bet it was either loaded or the ammunition was easily accessible.

MD law does not say the ammo can't be easily accessible. The gun just has to be unloaded in a secure case or holster. What's missing here is what lead to the discovery of the gun? For example was the guy driving 100mph and when he was pulled over the car smelled like pot? We just do not know what happened with this little bit of info.

But with many criminals in MD they often get off due to an over crowing problem in the jails. The ones that do get put away are just realest way to early because they do not have enough room to put them all.