Blog

Would You Use a Gun to Prevent Crimes

In August, I successfully defended a young man charged with seven felonies in Henrico County, Virginia. His crime: firing a shot at a drug dealer's engine compartment to prevent him from completing a sale to his friend, a heroin addict who happened to be in the car that was speeding away from the friend's house in a pre-arranged effort to satisfy a drug habit.

My client was charged with two counts  of firing into an occupied vehicle with the intent to injure the persons inside; two counts of attempted malicious wounding; one count of leaving the scene of an accident; and two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony.
 
Although no one was injured and the friend rescued from his drug suppliers before the sale could be completed, the case demonstrated three things:

One, Virginia does not want private citizens to intervene in preventing crime, even when it is impossible to get officer assistance in to the scene in time.

Two, drug dealers call for police assistance themselves when they feel threatened.

Three, when presented with a truthful rendition of the facts, and a justifiable argument to support innocense, jurors will acquit a person of a crime despite the arguments of the state to the contrary.