Posted on 04/05/2006 1:27:08 PM PDT by 300magnum
An Evergreen High School student who posted Internet photos of himself posing with guns was convicted Tuesday on a charge of possession of a handgun by a juvenile. The conviction came despite his parents' testimony that they gave him permission to handle guns in their home without their supervision.
Colorado law prohibits possession of a handgun by a juvenile but permits parents to give them permission to possess guns in their homes - even without supervision.
"This is a very difficult case," defense attorney Barrett Weisz said in his closing argument.
"We have pictures that raise images of the Columbine massacre. But if we set the specter of Columbine aside," he said, the boy should be acquitted and sent home.
The photos were posted on the popular teen Web site MySpace.com. The photos showed him posing with a number of rifles and three handguns - a .45-caliber pistol, a .22-caliber revolver and a .357-caliber revolver.
The 16-year-old boy, who has been held in detention since his arrest in February, will be sentenced June 1. He was acquitted on two additional charges of handgun possession.
The judge set a $5,000 bond, but ordered that the boy must be evaluated and a safety plan drawn up before he can be released.
The boy's parents testified they were upset and disappointed with their son when they discovered the photos, but said he had permission to handle the weapons.
"I was not pleased and told him to take (the photos) down," his father testified. "I told him, 'What were you thinking when you took these pictures?' I was upset."
The father, a gun collector and enthusiast who is an airline pilot and retired Air Force pilot, said he gave the boy and his brother extensive training in the safe handling of weapons.
He said he gave his sons permission to handle the guns in the home even when he wasn't there, and the boys had access to keys to trigger locks.
"It was due to their experience and my trust in them" to safely handle the weapons, he said. They often cleaned the guns after they had gone shooting and he was out of town for his job, the father said.
They also built guns from kits, he said.
But Jefferson County District Judge Brian Boatright said that that permission had limits.
"That doesn't mean juveniles could run around the house and do whatever he wanted with the gun," Boatright said, noting that the father testified the boys were not allowed to load or fire the weapons unless he was present.
Boatright acquitted the boy on two charges in which he posed with the handguns but did not have his finger on the trigger. One of the charges stemmed from a photo entitled "angel of death," in which he posed on the floor with guns surrounding his body.
The judge was more concerned with a third photo in which the boy appeared to have his finger on the trigger.
"That exceeds the scope of his training, experience and trust (his father) placed in the juvenile," Boatright said.
Weisz argued the boy has spent far too long in detention already and needs to get on with his life. He has been enrolled in a private school. Weisz said he would appeal the case.
He assured the judge that no weapons will be in the house again. "The hobby is gone. The guns are gone and won't be back," Weisz said.
How could you tell from a wide angle group shot that it was a real gun, and not a replica or even a toy?
Besides, it's against the law in IL for anyone under 18 to possess a handgun, and illegal for adults to "to carry or possess any firearm in any vehicle or concealed on or about the person, except on one`s land or in one`s abode or fixed place of business. It is unlawful to carry or possess any firearm on or about one`s person upon any public street, alley, or other public lands within the corporate limits of a city, village, or incorporated town" ... "transportation of firearms that are broken down in a non-functioning state or are not immediately accessible (e.g., in the trunk of a car); and transportation, carrying, or possession of a firearm which is unloaded and enclosed in a case, firearm carrying box, shipping box, or other container, by the possessor of a valid FOID. Under the Wildlife Code, it is unlawful to have or carry any firearm in or on any vehicle or conveyance unless unloaded and enclosed in a case."
So clearly the photo could not have been showing what you think it showed. [/sarc
In Texas they arrest you for public drunkeness while in a bar because you might drive a car.
Bush attacked Iraq because he believed they had WMD and might use them.
Many people want to stop one from owning a gun because they might be the rare case of a psycho.
Sadly, preemptive arrest be the trend of the future.
Colorado law prohibits possession of a handgun by a juvenile but permits parents to give them permission to possess guns in their homes - even without supervision.
Sounds like this conviction was a witchhunt that will be thrown out on appeal.
Who activated the pre-crime unit in CO?
Just one of the reasons I would NEVER move to IL!
Has anyone here seen the pictures? I'd be interested to see what exactly the article is talking about, and I couldnt find anything on myspace.com.
He IS a minor, though, so his face should probably be blurred out.
Wrong title. What she's really saying is "Put that thing back in your pants, or your Mr. Wiggly will meet my Mr. Beretta. "
The depleted uranium is only for the gators!
It is unlawful for any person under 18 to possess a handgun, and it is unlawful to provide or permit a juvenile to possess a handgun, with exceptions for attendance at a hunter`s safety course or firearms safety course, or engaging in lawful target shooting, or hunting or trapping with a valid license, or traveling with an unloaded handgun to or from any of these activities, or while on real property under the control of the juvenile`s parent, legal guardian or grandparent and who has the permission of the parent or legal guardian to possess a handgun, or while at the juvenile`s residence and with permission of parent or legal guardian possesses a handgun for self-defense.
smokin hot...
I agree with you 100%. The interpretation by the DA and the courts is nuts IMO.
Trigger protocol!
oh, my.
I wonder what my jail sentence would have been if I were 10 and did this now.
I'm sure you're about to find out. I imagine that BATF are monitoring this forum for just such admittance, and will soon be knocking on your door, alla Elian Gonzalez.
My guess is that he was not running around the house while having his picture taken. Nor was he was loading or firing the weapon. His parents gave him permission to possess the gun, which he was doing. Someone then took his picture while possessing the weapon.
Apparently taking the picture was illegal. I suppose we can look forward to having to register our cameras next.
Geez, dude, we can't take you anywhere! :-)
I just read KarinG1's profile. With her looks (if thats her) and apparent wit and wisdom, I think I'm in love.
Attention all burglars...there's a newly disarmed house available for your pleasure...
My gun collection started with BB at 9, pump-action .22 at 11, 16-Ga. pump-action at 12, lever-action .308 at 14, .38 revolver at 16.
Any of that would attract a SWAT team today.
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