An Indiana woman was charged with having a loaded revolver and for driving under the influence following a minor crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway Friday, according to state police.
Cynthia Ellis, 52, of Zionsville, was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and driving under the influence, according to Illinois State Police District Chicago Master Sgt. Anthony Hoop.
Ellis was driving a 2000 Ford Explorer south on the Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate Highway 94) near West Roosevelt Road about 6 p.m. when she got into a "minor fender-bender" with another motorist, Hoop said.
A responding officer observed that Ellis was impaired by alcohol and arrested and charged her for driving under the influence. The officer also searched the SUV and found a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson loaded with five live rounds, "uncased and easily accessible" in the center console, Hoop said.
Ellis has a concealed weapons permit for Indiana but was charged because the traffic incident occurred in Illinois, Hoop said. In addition, Ellis was cited for failure to reduce speed and having an open container of alcohol, he said.
Ellis is a licensed doctor in Indiana and was issued a physician and surgeon or osteopath license since 1985, according to public records.
Is this a good example of the 10% people, or what? Those would be the lawful gun owners who are too dangerous to have guns. In the good doctor's case though, she used to be one of them, now she's just a criminal. Of course with a good lawyer she might get the charges lowered enough where she can continue to be a good representative (of the 10%).
Does this also remind you of the VPC lists? Of course you have to do a lot more than have a minor accident and be drunk behind the wheel across the state line. Maybe Dr. Ellis can get those charges adjusted and continue on her merry way until she does kill someone.
What's your opinion? Is a person like this dangerous or are they making a big deal out of nothing?
Please leave a comment.
MikeB: “Is this a good example of the 10% people, or what?”
ReplyDeleteI have no problems with her losing her CCW because of her DUI. You however seem to want to take away rights before they commit a crime though.
By the way, I think she is more likely to kill someone with her car than her gun.
She was loaded and her car was the deadly weapon.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I think she is more likely to kill someone with her car than her gun.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. I'd like to see our country develop Norway's lack of tolerance towards drunk driving. Efforts there would undoubtedly save hundreds if not thousands of lives, unlike gun control which has no measurable impact at all.
If the gun had been unloaded, I think she would have been off the hook, since the Illinois Supreme Court has (to the screaming horror of Illinois' many forcible citizen disarmament advocates) ruled that a center console qualifies as a "case."
ReplyDeleteIn fact, I'd have to look at the specifics of the law, but the state Supreme Court's ruling might mean that the "aggravated" will have to be dropped from the "aggravated unlawful use of a weapon," which would (I think) change the "crime" from a felony to a misdemeanor.
By the way, when I say "off the hook," I refer, of course, only to the weapons charge. The drunk driving--the part of her behavior that was actually dangerous and morally wrong--is another matter entirely, as it should be.
ReplyDeleteI agree she's more likely to kill someone with her car, but since this is a gun blog, I'm advocating for her losing the right to own a gun. Maybe somebody with a safe car blog wants to take up the other cause.
ReplyDeleteMikeB: “I agree she's more likely to kill someone with her car, but since this is a gun blog, I'm advocating for her losing the right to own a gun.”
ReplyDeleteWhoa, I thought this was a Frank Zappa blog. What am I doing here?