GUNS, BOOZE, AND WOMEN

Posted by Perry de Marco, Sr. on 24 October 2017

It was December 19, 2014 when all the poor defendant wanted to do was go out to the local club for a good time.  Unfortunately, he didn’t anticipate the wrath of his jealous girlfriends.  He arrived at the club and eventually got schnockered.  That’s when girlfriend number one , let’s call her G1, showed up at the club and insisted on driving him home.  Even though he was so drunk that he could hardly walk, she claimed that a stranger who assisted her in getting the defendant into her car slipped a gun into his pocket for his, the defendant’s, “self protection”. Very suspicious.  G1 takes him to his house and they prepare to spend an amorous night together. That’s when G2 calls defendant’s cell phone and G1 answers the phone. Nuclear war erupts between G1 and G2 all to the dismay of the powerless, drunken defendant.  G1, who is a trained boxer and MMA fighter proceeds to beat the daylights out of the defendant who reaches under the bed, comes up with a gun and clocks G1 warding off the attack. Eventually the police are called and charge the defendant with Aggravated Assault, and weapons offenses including Former Convict not to own a firearm. Perry de Marco, Sr. was retained as defense counsel. The jury trial commenced on September 12, 2017. At trial the Commonwealth proceeded on only the Former Convict Not to Own a Firearm charge.  The testimony revealed that hours later when the police arrived at the defendant’s residence to arrest him, he answered the door without any resistance and was “kind enough” to leave not one but two guns out in the open on his bed, apparently to make them easier for the cops to find. A search, albeit with a warrant wasn’t even necessary. G2 testified that she was living in the defendant’s home off and on and that one of the guns was legally owned by her. She provided the documentation to prove this. She further testified that she kept her gun was securely hidden in her clothes in a closet so that the defendant couldn’t find it.  Ownership of the second gun was never proven. The defense argument was simple, he didn’t “possess “ the gun as is prohibited by the statute, he only used it as a club to defend himself. After only two hours of deliberation the jury agreed. Verdict, Not Guilty. P.S. The defendant is now living blissfully with G2.