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Man convicted for wearing pistol in Vancouver pizza shop

dawei

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Mar 13, 2007
Messages
15
Location
Olympia, WA, ,
SOURCE: http://www.theolympian.com/2010/10/01/1388593/man-convicted-for-wearing-pistol.html

Man convicted for wearing pistol in Vancouver pizza shop
The Associated Press • Published October 01, 2010


VANCOUVER, Wash. - A man who wore a pistol into a Vancouver pizza restaurant, causing employees to fear a robbery, was convicted Thursday in Clark County District Court of unlawfully carrying a weapon.

The lawyer for 23-year-old Joshua R. Watson of Camas unsuccessfully argued he was merely exercising his right to bear arms. Watson was sentenced to five days in jail. He says he'll appeal to superior court.

The Columbian reports Watson called 911 when he was confronted by officers about the gun at the restaurant in 2008 and complained he was being harassed.
 
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joejoejoe

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Jan 12, 2010
Messages
319
Location
Vancouver, WA
Seriously? Something's not right here. I could see an uneducated person thinking that they were going be robbed if a man with a gun comes in, but for a person to get jail time because of that doesn't seem right. I think a part of the story must be missing. It says he unsuccessfully argued that he was just exercising his rights. If the person frequents OCDO, I would like to hear more on this. I also wanna know what Pizza restaurant it was so I can go there.

Joe~
 

Lovenox

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Aug 3, 2010
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538
Location
Olympia
It appeared that this should have been a clear cut victory for the OC, Maybe he had incompetent representation?
 

joejoejoe

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Jan 12, 2010
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Location
Vancouver, WA
The whole story.
http://www.columbian.com/news/2010/sep/30/student-convicted-in-open-carry-gun-case/

Very interesting... it seems like standing in one place at night with a gun is considered alarming. So if you are abandoned late at night, try to move around a bit? It seems like the officers were using coercion to get Watson to not do something he had a legal right to do. I understand from the viewpoint of Round Table Pizza, but a gun PLUS snow was probably the reason they closed early. The officers clearly knew he could carry the gun or else they wouldn't have pleaded with him for an hour to cover it up. After an hour conversation, they should have realized that his intent was NOT to alarm the pizza restaurant.

This kinda pisses me off because as an open carrier, I feel I don't have the right to "wait" for someone because I have a gun. I can move around and carry out my business, but the moment I stop moving, I can be cited for unlawful carry.

It sounds like his lawyer sucked, and when he appeals to the superior court, he needs to find a better lawyer.

Joe~
 

aadvark

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Aug 25, 2009
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, ,
All of this because of the actions of The Black Panthers that took place years ago.

Hopefully, though, He WILL Win in The Superior Court!
 
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sudden valley gunner

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Dec 13, 2008
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16,674
Location
Whatcom County
Yep as has been said before this is not good.
I am going to think more positively/optimistic about this. Although this severely pisses me off, I feel strongly that if this is appealed to the state supreme court it will fall in our favor, and give us a strong opinion to use in the future.

Again this re-enforces my resolve to open carry more, (although I pretty much do every where I go) I will not bend to tyranny anymore.
 

Ruby

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May 5, 2010
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Location
Renton, Washington, USA
Did anyone else notice that his "jury" only consisted of 6 people? I was under the impression that a jury consisted of 12 people. They also mentioned that they were all gun owners. So?!? There are plenty of gun owners who are against open carry. Duh!

Josh stands to lose his CPL and not be eligible to ever have one again if this conviction stands. He needs more competent representation IMO.
 

gogodawgs

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Oct 25, 2009
Messages
5,669
Location
Federal Way, Washington, USA
Did anyone else notice that his "jury" only consisted of 6 people? I was under the impression that a jury consisted of 12 people. They also mentioned that they were all gun owners. So?!? There are plenty of gun owners who are against open carry. Duh!

Josh stands to lose his CPL and not be eligible to ever have one again if this conviction stands. He needs more competent representation IMO.

I won't go into great detail about different juries in Washington but you can read HERE.
There are 3 different types of juries and a jury of 6 is quite common for lesser crimes. You are thinking TV and Murder cases.
(6) "Petit jury" means a body of persons twelve or less in number in the superior court and six in number in courts of limited jurisdiction, drawn by lot from the jurors in attendance upon the court at a particular session, and sworn to try and determine a question of fact.

Yes, there are many gun owners against OC, I speak with them at every gun show.

Josh does need proper representation, I have full faith that he will win upon appeal to the higher courts as they have ruled in our favor in the past.

(reminder, vote for Justice Sanders for the Supreme Court)
 
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Tawnos

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Messages
2,542
Location
Washington
Did anyone else notice that his "jury" only consisted of 6 people? I was under the impression that a jury consisted of 12 people. They also mentioned that they were all gun owners. So?!? There are plenty of gun owners who are against open carry. Duh!

Josh stands to lose his CPL and not be eligible to ever have one again if this conviction stands. He needs more competent representation IMO.

What I do love about that last bit is the irony of the charges. If the charges stand, the only manner Josh may legally carry will be open. Doesn't that belie the very nature of the charges, because the punishment is that he may only bear arms in the manner the police said wasn't allowed? They certainly couldn't ask him to cover up, as they charged him with not doing so earlier, and thus made it illegal for him to cover up.
 

amzbrady

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
3,521
Location
Marysville, Washington, USA
SNIP

Yes, there are many gun owners against OC, I speak with them at every gun show.


(reminder, vote for Justice Sanders for the Supreme Court)

Do those gun owners CC? I hope they realize if something happens and OC becomes illegal, the next thing they will focus on is CC, then a complete ban on private ownership. I also wonder if they know while they are walking around the gun show Obama is working on the new CIFTA treaty that the Mexican Pres is demanding.
 
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