Apparently, Wal-Mart is a "public gathering" in Newnan, GA

7156 Views 31 Replies 18 Participants Last post by fuclosure, Jul 21, 2006

mzmtg

Discussion Starter · Jun 2, 2006

http://content.times-herald.com/296034759204305.bsp

A man was arrested for carrying a deadly weapon at a public gathering because he was carrying in WalMart.

This is the piece of state code he is charged with violating:

16-11-127.
(a) Except as provided in Code Section 16-11-127.1, a person is guilty of a misdemeanor when he or she carries to or while at a public gathering any explosive compound, firearm, or knife designed for the purpose of offense and defense.
(b) For the purpose of this Code section, 'public gathering' shall include, but shall not be limited to, athletic or sporting events, churches or church functions, political rallies or functions, publicly owned or operated buildings, or establishments at which alcoholic beverages are sold for consumption on the premises. Nothing in this Code section shall otherwise prohibit the carrying of a firearm in any other public place by a person licensed or permitted to carry such firearm by this part.

Of course the AG has issued his opinion that a public gathering is not any public place, but a specific event for which the public may gather:
http://www.state.ga.us/ago/read.cgi?searchval=public%20...ering&openval=U96-22

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madmike

· #2 · Jun 2, 2006

Don't think it will happen in light of the AG's opinion, but if they do make it stick, it will be a serious miscarriage of justice.

If the man has to shell out one cent for his defense in this case, or loose a single minute of time a work, I hope he files a lawsuit of his own to recover his loses and perhaps to "educate" those responsible for letting this proceed.

All said of course, knowing there could be some "facts" not presented in the original report. But one the face of it, I doubt it.

mm

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artz

· #3 · Jun 2, 2006

I was just there the other day (I live about 30 minutes from there), and, again, I had my taurus in my holster in the front pocket. I didn't get one strange look.
I wondered if he gave himself away...

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Scott

· #4 · Jun 2, 2006

Belligerent maybe? Untrained LEOs?

I think there is more to this story than we see in print.

-Scott-

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mzmtg

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jun 2, 2006

Scott said:
Belligerent maybe? Untrained LEOs?

I think there is more to this story than we see in print.

-Scott-

His attitude has nothing to do with the fact that he wasn't breaking the law.

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dr_cmg

· #6 · Jun 2, 2006

My first call would be to my lawyer asking him to file a charge of false arrest. The law and the AG's opinion plus common sense indicate that the charge is baseless. Unless they are going to try to change the charge to resisting arrest or use the reaching for his waistband as some sort of attempt to pull his weapon, I think that there are three police officers in deep water.

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Old Chief

· #7 · Jun 2, 2006

:gah: Walmart as a gathering implies that every mall in the land is also a public gathering. In fact the implication is that every where outside of your home is a public gathering. If ignorance can be fixed this is a case in dire need of fixing.

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elkhunter

· #8 · Jun 2, 2006

Old Chief said:
:gah: Walmart as a gathering implies that every mall in the land is also a public gathering. In fact the implication is that every where outside of your home is a public gathering. If ignorance can be fixed this is a case in dire need of fixing.

This is the kind of precedent the anti-gunners desperately need. Never mind how convoluted it is logically. (their logic, most of the time is in error, and must be exposed ASAP.)
This is where the intended use of “free speech” comes in handy.:aargh4:

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dr_cmg

· #9 · Jun 2, 2006

The other thing this guy might do is call Walmart and ask if their attorneys want to defend him. Why would they do that? Ask them to think about the implications for Walmart if they are declared to be a public gathering. Think about the governmental intrusian that opens the door for. Believe me if the people at Walmart spend 5 minutes thinking about them they will come to the conclusion that they definitely DO NOT want to be a pulbic gathering.

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Rugerman

· #10 · Jun 2, 2006

The problem I see is he allowed some sheep to see his gun. And it said he had a firearm permit. I am assuming that was a CCW?

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Mojoski

· #11 · Jun 2, 2006

I sure hope this gets shot down. It's obviously at odds with the AG statement.

And I believe that the CCW is the only permit available in GA. There is one other that is specifically for Security Guards and such, but it is only given to people with specific jobs.

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mzmtg

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 2, 2006

Rugerman said:
And it said he had a firearm permit. I am assuming that was a CCW?

Yes, in GA it's called a "Georgia Firearms License."

GFL for short.

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dr_cmg

· #13 · Jun 2, 2006

Rugerman said:
The problem I see is he allowed some sheep to see his gun. And it said he had a firearm permit. I am assuming that was a CCW?

The charge would have been different if the permit wasn't for concealed carry.

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LenS

· #14 · Jun 2, 2006

dr_cmg said:
My first call would be to my lawyer asking him to file a charge of false arrest. The law and the AG's opinion plus common sense indicate that the charge is baseless. Unless they are going to try to change the charge to resisting arrest or use the reaching for his waistband as some sort of attempt to pull his weapon, I think that there are three police officers in deep water.

Sorry, but IMNSHO this is the WORST thing that he could do!

First you fight and defeat all charges against yourself. ONLY after that is all done do you even breathe a word about a civil lawsuit.

I know someone who was arrested under bogus charges, shot off his mouth, so they threw on more BS, dragged him thru the "system" for about a year, cost him $20K (according to him) to defeat all charges. The DA wanted to drop all charges, but the PD insisted on following thru (to get even with him, he has always been a Royal PITA to them). They even prevented him from getting his "arrest record" expunged, so now he has a criminal arrest record to follow him around all his life (MA only reports arrests, not adjudications; false arrests are never expunged either unless you can convince a judge to specifically authorize it).

If he had kept his mouth shut, it would have ended earlier and more favorably for him.

Once you know that the PD can NOT heap on any additional charges, and you have defeated them, then you can sue without risk of more trumped up charges. But not until then.

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dr_cmg

· #15 · Jun 2, 2006

LenS said:
Sorry, but IMNSHO this is the WORST thing that he could do!

First you fight and defeat all charges against yourself. ONLY after that is all done do you even breathe a word about a civil lawsuit.

I should have been more specific. I wasn't talking about with his one free telephone call. I had more in mind after the situation was handled. You can't file a charge for false arrest realisticly until the charges have been dropped. If they aren't dropped and you are found guilty, you then would have to appeal and be found not guilty in the appeal before you could file a false arrest charge. I am not one who really wants to make trouble for LEOs, but some times it just appears that certain ones go out of their way to cause problems. We have enough problems without the people charged with carrying out the laws deciding which ones they want to enforce. As for the three officers being in deep water, it is likely that when the facts come out that only the first officer is the one making problems and the other two were just doing what he told them.

This will be an interesting case to follow.

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Bags

· #16 · Jun 2, 2006

Rugerman said:
The problem I see is he allowed some sheep to see his gun. And it said he had a firearm permit. I am assuming that was a CCW?

Just because someone saw his gun does not make his action illegal. You can OPEN CARRY if you have a CCW in GA.

This is BS and I would be contacting wally world like dr cmg said.

I shop at wally world overr target for many reasons, one of them is I think they are pro II ammendment to me.

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LenS

· #17 · Jun 2, 2006

George,

Understood. I was referring to even uttering a word about a lawsuit, since that gives the police an excuse to parlay on additional charges as "revenge in advance". It happens, as it did to the bozo I referred to.

He didn't file his lawsuit until after his legal troubles were over, but he had "announced himself" from the get-go. I know since he asked me to serve the lawsuit on the police chief, sitting judge, ADA, and five officers. I refused, as did two other Constables and the Sheriff's Office! He ended up serving the papers himself (not actually legal, the server can't be a party to the case). [It's not legal to serve a sitting judge in MA, the police chief and one officer are known to me and nobody wanted to get tangled up in his problems (which definitely would have happened).]

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dr_cmg

· #18 · Jun 2, 2006

Len, I agree. Don't mention it until you are prepared to drop the hammer. In fact he would probably be wise to go to Atlanta to get the attorney. The less the others know about your plans the better. Like I said I don't really think that all three LEOs were a party to the situation. In reality the person who reviewed the charges when the man was brought in should have had enough sense to call the DA immediately and get a reading. Anybody with one eye and half sense should have recognized the problem with calling Walmart a public gathering. If they don't have that much sense they really, really ought not to be loose in public with a badge, a uniform, and especially a gun. I am from the deep south just west of Georgia and we have some pretty dumb people. But no more than any other part of the country. This is just trouble for several people. Walmart for sure does not want to be declared a public gathering. The guy does not want the charge to stick. And the city of Newnan does not want its police officers making Barney Fife look good.

I really need to look at the Georgia law about public gatherings and weapons. In Alabama the law says that if you have a weapon within 1000 feet of a public gathering and a LEO asks you to either leave or leave and return without it; you get to do one or the other. It is only by refusing or leaving and returning with the weapon after the request that is an offense. If Georgia's law is written the same way then there are bigger problems.

It will be interesting to watch. Have a great weekend.

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CombatEffective

· #19 · Jun 2, 2006

Absolutley horrid!! This was very shoddy police work.

The procedure is as follows:

The arresting officer will have to go before a Magistrate judge within 48 hours of the arrest and present the probable cause for the arrest. The judge will either sign the warrant or dismiss the charge at that point.

The guy will then have the option of a show cause hearing in which the officer and witnesses can be called to testify in front of the judge (Magistrate) and the PC can be challenged at this hearing. The judge again has to rule as to whether or not to drop the charges or let the case go.

For a felony charge, the accused can request that the case be sent to a grand jury for a citizen review of the charges, but the defense is typically not involved in the grand jury hearing.

Then of course, there is a trial.

Newnan is west of Atlanta. It used to be a fairly small town, but it has been over run by Atlanta folks in recent years.

I sure hope that the guy gets these charges dismissed. The cops here are dead wrong and should pay the consequences.

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stolivar

· #20 · Jun 3, 2006

duh

First off he put his gun in his pocket in the parking lot. (so he was probally seen by security at walmart video). Second you are required to have your gun in a holster in GA. So even if the first one does not stick they can get him on the second one.

steve

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