Negligent discharge

so my cousin had a ND that zipped out his window and into a house across the street. 3 days later the police raid his place with a warrant and take his 2 guns and tell him they found the bullet in the guys siding of his house.they are sendinghis guns to the crime lab to see if the slug matches barrel. whats the worst thing that can happen to him should they match it to his gun? nobody was hurt and his wacko lawyer doesnt have an answer to that question, any opinions would be much appreciated.

Maybs you should ask a non-wacko lawyer...

Outdoorsman1

Sorry, We at the ABA do not have any non-wacko Lawyers, we're aware of.

Badger Johnson said:

Sorry, We at the ABA do not have any non-wacko Lawyers, we're aware of.

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Badger Johnson... As I am an open carrier, I really like your signiture line and was wondering if you would mind if I use it....??

Or I gues maybe i should be asking ixtow....

Outdoorsman1

Yeah, great line, eh? Maybe IX will have it made into a T-Shirt?

He'll have to pay for the damages and there will probably be a fine for the discharge. Probably would have been better if he had known he had shot his neighbors house to let the neighbor know and pay for the damages...haha

Did he hope nobody noticed?

Did he report it?

I'm assuming that if you had a ND and you knew it hit your neighbors house. Wouldn't you go over and check to make sure that everybody is ok? Offer to make the repairs?

Of course I wouldn't want to call the cops on myself but you know one of the neighbors is going to call it in. so you might as well call them to let them know that you did it and it was an accident and everybody is ok.

To me it kinda sounds he had an accident and hoped that nobody would find out...

I don't know maybe I'm the naive one.

What would you guys do?

Has anybody had this issue before?

78 Camaro said:

Did he report it?

I'm assuming that if you had a ND and you knew it hit your neighbors house. Wouldn't you go over and check to make sure that everybody is ok? Offer to make the repairs?

Of course I wouldn't want to call the cops on myself but you know one of the neighbors is going to call it in. so you might as well call them to let them know that you did it and it was an accident and everybody is ok.

To me it kinda sounds he had an accident and hoped that nobody would find out...

I don't know maybe I'm the naive one.

What would you guys do?

Has anybody had this issue before?

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Not I. Loaded firearms don't have fingers on the trigger AT ALL, unless pointed at something that I don't mind having a hole placed in.

In fact, finger does not get on the trigger AT ALL loaded or not, unless pointed at something that I don't mind having a hole placed in.










Sounds anal, but it prevents repercussions from NDs.

Oh, as to the main point of the op, "raided with a warrant" does not sound like a simple "pay a fine and damages to structure" case. If that "wacko lawyer" doesn't understand that, get a different lawyer who does......

I would say his situation's possible resolutions might be quite different depending on how he initially handled it. Like someone already asked, did he report it? Did he admit when questioned? Did he call the police or his neighbor? This could go a lot of different directions, probably none of them good.

If he had simply called the local PD or Sheriffs when it happened, he would probably have been cited for any local discharge laws and maybe something about endangering the public. Since he didn't admit to it and they actually had enough to get a warrant to raid his house, they may try to put the spin on it that he shot at his neighbor in hopes of actually hitting them... You really never know. I'm just glad that it wasn't me.

The story puts me in mind of an immature child who does something wrong and tries to hide it. He is amazed that his folks find out anyway. The parents tell him that, if he had just owned up, there would have been appropriate consequences (usually not much). BUT...since he tried to hide his behavior, he now suffers stiffer consequences. No doubt the child thinks that is "unfair."

Adults take responsibility for their actions, even their mistakes. Children try to ignore or hide their mistakes, hoping that they will just go away. Mistakes typically come back to haunt us. Acknowledge them early, accepting the natural consequences.

I hope the shooter learns this valuable life lesson.

Howdy!
We have three people in this house with something like 15 guns between us.
None of us has ever had a negligent discharge.
Why would we?
We don't stick our fingers anywhere near the trigger. EVER.
Unless we are fixin' to fire, and when we do so, it is with intent.
I just don't understand how somebody can be that careless.
Not only careless, but dangerous.
Somebody could have been badly hurt.
In my mind, I hear the drill instructor shouting "No excuses are acceptable."

Some folks ought not have a gun. If they can't handle the thing responsibly,
they fit that description in my humble opinion. And not bothering to determine
whether somebody might have been hurt is a major compounding factor.
It does not do any favor to gun rights when people with guns fail to handle
them properly.

The cops took his guns. So far as I am concerned, good.
They are helping ensure public safety, which the gun owner showed careless
disregard for; both by the original discharge, failing to check whether somebody might be hurt in the second instance, and failing to notify authorities just rounding out a full house of negligent behavior.

That's my opinion, anyhow.
Perhaps the attorney doesn't know how to respond because he hasn't personally witnessed such overt negligence in his legal career.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

Joe glockstar can we get an update?

eye95 said:

The story puts me in mind of an immature child who does something wrong and tries to hide it. He is amazed that his folks find out anyway. The parents tell him that, if he had just owned up, there would have been appropriate consequences (usually not much). BUT...since he tried to hide his behavior, he now suffers stiffer consequences. No doubt the child thinks that is "unfair."

Adults take responsibility for their actions, even their mistakes. Children try to ignore or hide their mistakes, hoping that they will just go away. Mistakes typically come back to haunt us. Acknowledge them early, accepting the natural consequences.

I hope the shooter learns this valuable life lesson.

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Call your attorney, then call the police. In today's litigious society, it's cheaper to report it and fix the house that be caught up in false charges from a neighbor hoping to hit pay-dirt.

Kirbinator said:

Call your attorney, then call the police. In today's litigious society, it's cheaper to report it and fix the house that be caught up in false charges from a neighbor hoping to hit pay-dirt.

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By all means, call your attorney first, before owning up to any misdeed. My advice about taking responsibility is moral (not legal) advice. Being moral does not mean that we have to do so in a way that puts us in excess legal peril.

Nice caveat.

wrightme said:

Not I. Loaded firearms don't have fingers on the trigger AT ALL, unless pointed at something that I don't mind having a hole placed in.

In fact, finger does not get on the trigger AT ALL loaded or not, unless pointed at something that I don't mind having a hole placed in.

Sounds anal, but it prevents repercussions from NDs.

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Negligent = idiotic, period. I don't put my finger in the trigger guard of an unloaded gun unless I am dry firing it, much less a loaded one. Unless my intention is to pull the trigger within the next few seconds. Target, notwithstanding.
Reckless conduct can carry serious jail time. Depends on the state. "Should they match it to his gun..."??? Is there any doubt?

i was charged with ND a few years back. charge was dropped due to the crime lab figuring out it was a mechanical malfunction and not user-error. HOWEVER ...depending on what they charge him with it can be a SERIOUS felony with many years of jailtime.

i was charged with Felony Wreckless endangerment, felony wreckless conduct. felonly discharge of a weapon and disregard for life. all of those charges together carried a maximum jail term of 48 years if convicted.

depending on whether he can prove it was an AD *accidental discharge* and not a *NEGLIGENT DISCHARGE* depends on what will happen

could be anything from a fine and a wreckless conduct charge wich would prohibit him from ever owning a firearm again due to federal law.

all the way up to many years in prison accompanied by the above.

he needs to get a GOOD lawyer. get a firearms expert to look over the trajectories , the weapon ect. and he needs to go to church and prey. wich is the first thing i did. hes gonna need alot of help. god wont hurt.

sorry.