Blinn79
Regular Member
imported post
This happened a couple years ago, but I still thought some of you might find it interesting. I was 24 years old at the time, when a Pct. 4 Harris County Constable pulled over my friend who was driving a 1998 Chevy 3500 crew cab truck. I was sitting in the back of the crew cab with another one of my friends riding "shotgun".
My friend pulled over on Mills Road in Northwest Houston into a elementary or middle school parking lot because it was the first place to pull over, as the road really doesn't have a shoulder there and is only two lanes wide. So the officer asks everyone in the truck to give him their ID's. I of course carrying my Glock 23C, gave him my DL and CHL.
He then asked me to step out of the truck and place my hands on the top of the bed of the truck while he disarmed me. I quickly and polietly cooperated.
He then ran all of our records to make sure we had no warrents. Well when he came back, he asked if he could search the vehicle. My friend, the owner and driver, agreed as we had nothing to hide. The officer found a empty "Spec's" liquor store paper bag in the truck. He started asking if we had been drinking and we all told him no. The bag was from a day or two ago when we had gone to a bonfire party in Tomball, Tx.
He didn't believe us, and then seperated us asking us questions individually and trying to get one of us to admit we had been drinking. After about 15 minutes of this and getting no where, he finally came back to me, and told me to put my hands behind my back. I did as he told me, but asked "what is the problem". He told me I was being arrested for "carrying a prohibited weapon in a prohibited place". Meaning he was arresting me for carrying a firearm on school grounds.
I quickly reminded him that he pulled us over, causing us to pull into the the parking lot, which we didn't even realize was a school because it was the side/back area, and it was 9pm at night, with school not even in session. Plus furthermore, I was not in control of the truck to even choose if I was going to go in there or not. Then on top of that, I told him that I would never intenionally break the law, as I had just graduated from H.C.C. Police Academy and passed my TCLEOSE test to be certified to be a Texas Peace Officer. I also informed him that according to the Texas Penal Code, I AM allowed to carry it in a school parking lot, just not in the building. There is a seperate law for CHL holders, which has different rules.
He did not care about any of that. Two other officers that were there even pleaded with the guy that I was in the process of trying to get on with a local police department and that him charging me with a 3rd degree felony charge would hinder my future ability to be a police officer. He did not care and turned a deaf ear to the other officers requests to re-evaluate the situation.
So I was processed into Cypresswood substation and awaited to be transferred to downtown Harris County jail. This took about 16 hours. Then once I was processed in there, it took about another 24 hours for me to have my bail set at $5,000. I made bail and as soon as I got home, got out my Texas penal code book from the police academy. I found Texas P.C. 46.035 which refers to CHL holders and it says "school grounds does NOT apply to a driveway, walkway, parking lot, or parking garage. It DOES apply to a building or portion of a building such as portable buildings or evesments.
I highlighted the part about it not applying to parking lots, and took it with me to my first day in court. I tried to show it to the assistant district attorney who was trying to prosecute me and she told me "I graduated from law school, I think I know the law, thanks", with out even looking at the penal code book I was holding in front of her. So finally the judge asked me why I didn't have a attorney and I explained because I didn't need one and this was all a misunderstanding. He then advised me to be quite, and was going to reset the first day for a week later so I could get a attorney for this serous charge. I then stepped in and told him I have the right then to represent myself. He then tried to warn me again about how serious this was, in which I replied "can you please just read this ONE sentence and explain this to me".
He agreed to read it and after reading it, looked at the front cover of the book. He asked the assistant district attorney if she has a 2006 copy of the Texas Penal Code, as mine was 2 years old. He checked to make sure that the law had not been revised in the last two years, and then asked the assistant district attorney if she had even read the current charge, and looked up and read it. She started stuttering and walked over and read it. He then said he wanted to speak with her in his chambers and called a 10 minute rescess. When he came back out, he dismissed my case.
It took me a YEAR to get back my Glock, which has been taken for evidence. I called and had to talk to probably 15 different people and harass the hell out of them for a year to finally get my Glock back.
I now have to get the charge expunged off my record in order to become a police officer, as I was not even allowed to go on a ride along I was suppose to take for one of my Criminal Justice classes.
Overall, this cost me about $1,600 dollars, 2 days in jail and a dozen annoying visits down town.
This happened a couple years ago, but I still thought some of you might find it interesting. I was 24 years old at the time, when a Pct. 4 Harris County Constable pulled over my friend who was driving a 1998 Chevy 3500 crew cab truck. I was sitting in the back of the crew cab with another one of my friends riding "shotgun".
My friend pulled over on Mills Road in Northwest Houston into a elementary or middle school parking lot because it was the first place to pull over, as the road really doesn't have a shoulder there and is only two lanes wide. So the officer asks everyone in the truck to give him their ID's. I of course carrying my Glock 23C, gave him my DL and CHL.
He then asked me to step out of the truck and place my hands on the top of the bed of the truck while he disarmed me. I quickly and polietly cooperated.
He then ran all of our records to make sure we had no warrents. Well when he came back, he asked if he could search the vehicle. My friend, the owner and driver, agreed as we had nothing to hide. The officer found a empty "Spec's" liquor store paper bag in the truck. He started asking if we had been drinking and we all told him no. The bag was from a day or two ago when we had gone to a bonfire party in Tomball, Tx.
He didn't believe us, and then seperated us asking us questions individually and trying to get one of us to admit we had been drinking. After about 15 minutes of this and getting no where, he finally came back to me, and told me to put my hands behind my back. I did as he told me, but asked "what is the problem". He told me I was being arrested for "carrying a prohibited weapon in a prohibited place". Meaning he was arresting me for carrying a firearm on school grounds.
I quickly reminded him that he pulled us over, causing us to pull into the the parking lot, which we didn't even realize was a school because it was the side/back area, and it was 9pm at night, with school not even in session. Plus furthermore, I was not in control of the truck to even choose if I was going to go in there or not. Then on top of that, I told him that I would never intenionally break the law, as I had just graduated from H.C.C. Police Academy and passed my TCLEOSE test to be certified to be a Texas Peace Officer. I also informed him that according to the Texas Penal Code, I AM allowed to carry it in a school parking lot, just not in the building. There is a seperate law for CHL holders, which has different rules.
He did not care about any of that. Two other officers that were there even pleaded with the guy that I was in the process of trying to get on with a local police department and that him charging me with a 3rd degree felony charge would hinder my future ability to be a police officer. He did not care and turned a deaf ear to the other officers requests to re-evaluate the situation.
So I was processed into Cypresswood substation and awaited to be transferred to downtown Harris County jail. This took about 16 hours. Then once I was processed in there, it took about another 24 hours for me to have my bail set at $5,000. I made bail and as soon as I got home, got out my Texas penal code book from the police academy. I found Texas P.C. 46.035 which refers to CHL holders and it says "school grounds does NOT apply to a driveway, walkway, parking lot, or parking garage. It DOES apply to a building or portion of a building such as portable buildings or evesments.
I highlighted the part about it not applying to parking lots, and took it with me to my first day in court. I tried to show it to the assistant district attorney who was trying to prosecute me and she told me "I graduated from law school, I think I know the law, thanks", with out even looking at the penal code book I was holding in front of her. So finally the judge asked me why I didn't have a attorney and I explained because I didn't need one and this was all a misunderstanding. He then advised me to be quite, and was going to reset the first day for a week later so I could get a attorney for this serous charge. I then stepped in and told him I have the right then to represent myself. He then tried to warn me again about how serious this was, in which I replied "can you please just read this ONE sentence and explain this to me".
He agreed to read it and after reading it, looked at the front cover of the book. He asked the assistant district attorney if she has a 2006 copy of the Texas Penal Code, as mine was 2 years old. He checked to make sure that the law had not been revised in the last two years, and then asked the assistant district attorney if she had even read the current charge, and looked up and read it. She started stuttering and walked over and read it. He then said he wanted to speak with her in his chambers and called a 10 minute rescess. When he came back out, he dismissed my case.
It took me a YEAR to get back my Glock, which has been taken for evidence. I called and had to talk to probably 15 different people and harass the hell out of them for a year to finally get my Glock back.
I now have to get the charge expunged off my record in order to become a police officer, as I was not even allowed to go on a ride along I was suppose to take for one of my Criminal Justice classes.
Overall, this cost me about $1,600 dollars, 2 days in jail and a dozen annoying visits down town.