Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Gun Practice Near the Neighbors

The Boston Herald reports on the common sense exercised by a New Hampshire gun owner.

MONT VERNON, N.H. — A Mont Vernon, N.H., man is facing charges after giving his girlfriend a shooting lesson that some neighbors felt was too close to their home.

Twenty-three-year-old Troy Gagnon had fired one round from a .20-gauge shotgun and his girlfriend had fired another Saturday afternoon when a neighbor called police.

The neighbor was outside with his children.

The New Hampshire Union Leader says Gagnon initially denied firing his shotgun, but his friend said they had.

Gagnon was charged with a felony count of reckless conduct. He spent the weekend in jail before being released Monday.

What happens next, do you think? After getting out of jail, he gets a slap on the wrist, some misdemeanor charge, and he's back in business, back in the business of being a reckless endangerment to himself and others. Does that sound about right to you?

Please leave a comment.

6 comments:

  1. Misdemeanor?

    > > Gagnon was charged with a felony count of reckless conduct.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anon, you need to learn how your legal system works.

    There is a strong chance that the case will probably be resolved with a "non-trial disposition" (i.e., a plea to lesser charge, otherwise known as plea bargaining).

    Or, he could even argue that he was jus exercising his Second Amendment rights and beat the charges.

    Laci

    ReplyDelete
  3. Laci, I'm very familiar that plea bargaining is often used, and benefits criminals more than those less criminally inclined.

    I.E. a felon in possession of a firearm can easily downgrade his sentence by ratting out the person who sold him the gun, where in contrast a civilian who legally purchased a gun and later becomes a prohibited person has no such bargaining chip.

    ReplyDelete
  4. How far away from the neighbors house was Gagnon. That is the question. Most likely if he was the required distance from the structures (IE homes, outbuildings) in the neighborhood, the charges will be dismissed.

    Where I lived the distance from the home or outbuildings required to fire a gun was 150 yards, unless you were at your own home, shooting from your home. Where I live now, a city ordinance requires that you be clear of all structures about 50 feet. I would have to check on that.

    I can only say that if the man violated a distance ordinance, the police were right in arresting him, but if not, you have busybody neighbors calling the police, which is their right.

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Misdemeanor?

    > > Gagnon was charged with a felony count of reckless conduct."


    Unfortunately, as Laci pointed out, that doesn't mean much at this point.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mike, charging and convicting are very different, as I'm sure Laci also knows.

    You're post is still incorrect.

    ReplyDelete