Packfanatic said:
Weapons Violation: Disorderly Conduct While Armed.
A Denny's security guard said he observed two men in a bathroom stall early Sunday morning, and when he looked over their shoulders, he saw one had a handgun. Concerned, he contacted police as the men left the Thierer Rd. restaurant. Officers contacted the men in the parking lot and arrested one on a tentative charge listed above.
There's no such charge as "DC while armed".
947.01 Disorderly conduct
Whoever, in a public or private place, engages in violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly conduct under circumstances in which the conduct tends to cause or provoke a disturbance is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.
So which part of "violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, unreasonably loud or otherwise disorderly" was their private meeting in the bathroom stall?
If they were doing more than transacting business, it may be indecent.
But other than the guard who was nosy, who was disturbed even by that?
Acording to JB's APR09 memo (
http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/FinalOpenCarryMemo.pdf)
the prosecution
first has to prove that the action was one of those things, or similar,
THEN has to prove that it provoked or tended to provoke a disturbance.
Nothing in the brief report says anything that leads to either of those conclusions.
And since the police didn't witness the incident (which unless they were doing something sexual probably wasn't anything resembling the list above) they couldn't do much unless one of the guys admitted something that resembles DC.
Also, did anyone else notice it says the guard contacted police as they guys left the restaurant, & officers found them in the parking lot? Either the cops were right there eating, or the guys lingered & talked in the parking lot. Gotta stop doing that after an OC dinner, just in case!
McX said:
perhaps they used the bathroom to show each other the gun(s), as not to appear to be brandishing? Creative idea huh, wonder if their lawyers will use it?
Is a good argument.