1.) You're absolutely right. It was very foolish.
2.) I was too ill to make the call myself, my heart rate was around 120 bpm and I was vomiting consistently. I believe I had a bad reaction to the wine I was drinking that evening. My girlfriend actually called 911 at my request. I was able to walk her through the call to dispatch to get me an ambulance.
During the call, I told her to tell the dispatcher that I had a CWP. I was told that any involvement with the police required me to inform them that I had a permit. (From the CWP class).
The dispatcher asked her if I had the gun. She knew that I brought it with me, so she answered yes. The dispatcher then asked her to retrieve the gun, which she did just before the police arrived. The police entered the residence, I showed them that I did not have a gun in my possession, and they escorted me to the ambulance. They retrieved the weapon from my girlfriend, which was unloaded.
As soon as the EMTs checked me out, I signed a release and left the ambulance. After I was released I was cited.
My BAC was never tested.
My weapon was seized by the police, but released to me by the chief of police a week later.
Unfortunately for me, I had no previous experience with the police, courts, or any of that.. so I was severely uninformed going in to defend myself.
3.) I do make quite a bit of money as well, so a public defender was not an option.
Just a stupid stupid mistake. But at least I can still open carry.
That is really unfortunate. They had no case. If they never checked your BAC they had no idea if you were even over the legal limit. The police didn't even know enough to cite you. If you were slurring your speech, lacking in coordination, or anything else, for all they know it was due to the illness.
You are able to represent yourself in court. It is in general, not a good idea, but a not guilty plea would have probably ended this case. You usually have time between the time you were cited and your court date. There are people willing to help you on sites such as this. You had the right to a copy of all of the evidence against you. I suspect they had nothing to prove the citation was valid beyond a reasonable doubt, even to themselves. A guilty plea just made it so no one from the state had to put any work into your case. I would have helped you, even to the point of going to court with you.
Unfortunately, when a CFP is revoked, it hurts everyone who has a CFP.
Oh well, remember the rest of your rights and continue to exercise them.
Good luck to you.