I (attarney Ryan W. McAllister) recently represented a young man who was charged with firearms not to be carried without a license, 18 Pa.C.S.A. 6106. This charge was initially graded by the police as a 3rd degree felony. After reviewing the evidence and the law, however, I was quickly able to determine that the charge should actually be graded as a 1st degree misdemeanor, a less serious grading. After a discussion with the assistant district attarney assigned to handle the case, the charge was changed to reflect the less serious grading.
As for defending the case itself, my client was only 21 years old and had no prior criminal record. He was very interested in pursuing the ARD Program, which is a program for first time offenders that allows a defendant to have his record expunged following completion of the program. I explained to my client that it can be difficult to get ARD for a cases involving firearms, but, I believed, we should put forth every effort to get him admitted to the program.
And, in fact, the initial application to the ARD Program was “denied” by the assistant district attarney assigned to the case. I had to make my arguments to the “head” District attarney. I explained the facts of the case, specifically stating the my client did not make any threats with the firearm. Also, I explained that my client was fully cooperative with the police throughout the investigation. Finally, I was also able to subpoena records from the store where my client bought the firearm. Although this had no bearing on the legality of the case itself, I used this evidence to show the District attarney that my client had obtained the firearm through proper procedures.
In the end, my client was approved for the ARD Program. At the start of the case, he was looking at a felony conviction on his record for the rest of his life. By the time the case was over, however, I was able to get him the opportunity to earn a full dismissal and expungement of the case. He is currently doing very well on ARD Supervision, and I look forward to getting his expungement order in the mail a few months down the road.
If you have been charged with a felony or misdemeanor in Berks County or Reading, Pennsylvania, please contact Nevins & McAllister, PLLC, at 610-372-5128 to setup a free consultation.
