VA-ALERT: False Arrest in Norfolk?
I was holding a Virginia Pilot article for this weekend's VCDL Update
about a black 19 year-old high school student, Corey Benton, in
Norfolk that was arrested for FELONY possession of a firearm on K-12
property (18.2-308.1).
There was a fly in the ointment, though - the rifle was unloaded,
locked in the trunk of the student's car, and was lawfully owned by
Corey!
Corey appears to have followed Virginia law to the letter.
If those are the facts, and Corey is not a convicted felon or
otherwise prohibited from owning firearms, then Norfolk has had an
innocent person in JAIL for several days now!
All of this is not to say that perhaps Corey has broken a school rule
and could be expelled for a year (22.1-277.07), but that is a far cry
from making him a felon! The school can also decided not to punish
him at all according to the law.
The felony provisions of 18.2-308.1 need to be revisited and made to
only apply if the Commonwealth can show intent to do harm. Mere
possession of a lawfully owned firearm on school property should NOT
be a felony.
I have left a message with the Corey's Public Defender attorney
indicating that VCDL stands ready and willing to help in this matter.
I also talked to the Commonwealth Attorney for Norfolk, Jack Doyle.
He said that it was the arresting officer and not his department that
was pressing the charge. He is investigating and trying to get all
the pertinent facts on the case, including a statement from the
officer. There will be a bond hearing soon and if there is not
sufficient reason to charge Corey, then the charges will be dropped
and Corey will be released according to Mr. Doyle.
If Corey is not found to have violated state law, it sounds like he
might be in a position to sue for false arrest. Especially after
spending several days in jail!
I want to thank Matthew Roy, a reporter with the Virginian Pilot, for
bringing some of the details of the case to my attention during an
interview today. It was the Virginia Pilot that broke the story
originally (different reporter, though). Matthew may well do a story
on Corey's predicament as well.
Also, in an interesting twist, Pam Pouchot, who is trying to get laws
passed to PROHIBIT ALL firearms on school property, provided some
helpful information to me via email. Although Pam and I are on the
opposite side of the fence when it comes to law-abiding citizens
carrying guns on school property, she is consistent in her philosophy
about laws. She believes that whatever the law is, and whether she
agrees with it or not, it should be enforced correctly - hence her
involvement in trying to help Corey. I certainly respect her
dedication to that philosophy. This is the second time she has been
involved helping a student in a case where that student was
improperly charged with carrying on school property.
I will advise as this case progresses. Hopefully I will know soon if
there are any mitigating circumstances in this case that haven't come
out yet.
Here is the original article (thanks to Andy Barr):
http://tinyurl.com/p4y66
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL).
VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to
defending the human rights of all Virginians. The membership considers
the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms to be an essential human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
about a black 19 year-old high school student, Corey Benton, in
Norfolk that was arrested for FELONY possession of a firearm on K-12
property (18.2-308.1).
There was a fly in the ointment, though - the rifle was unloaded,
locked in the trunk of the student's car, and was lawfully owned by
Corey!
Corey appears to have followed Virginia law to the letter.
If those are the facts, and Corey is not a convicted felon or
otherwise prohibited from owning firearms, then Norfolk has had an
innocent person in JAIL for several days now!
All of this is not to say that perhaps Corey has broken a school rule
and could be expelled for a year (22.1-277.07), but that is a far cry
from making him a felon! The school can also decided not to punish
him at all according to the law.
The felony provisions of 18.2-308.1 need to be revisited and made to
only apply if the Commonwealth can show intent to do harm. Mere
possession of a lawfully owned firearm on school property should NOT
be a felony.
I have left a message with the Corey's Public Defender attorney
indicating that VCDL stands ready and willing to help in this matter.
I also talked to the Commonwealth Attorney for Norfolk, Jack Doyle.
He said that it was the arresting officer and not his department that
was pressing the charge. He is investigating and trying to get all
the pertinent facts on the case, including a statement from the
officer. There will be a bond hearing soon and if there is not
sufficient reason to charge Corey, then the charges will be dropped
and Corey will be released according to Mr. Doyle.
If Corey is not found to have violated state law, it sounds like he
might be in a position to sue for false arrest. Especially after
spending several days in jail!
I want to thank Matthew Roy, a reporter with the Virginian Pilot, for
bringing some of the details of the case to my attention during an
interview today. It was the Virginia Pilot that broke the story
originally (different reporter, though). Matthew may well do a story
on Corey's predicament as well.
Also, in an interesting twist, Pam Pouchot, who is trying to get laws
passed to PROHIBIT ALL firearms on school property, provided some
helpful information to me via email. Although Pam and I are on the
opposite side of the fence when it comes to law-abiding citizens
carrying guns on school property, she is consistent in her philosophy
about laws. She believes that whatever the law is, and whether she
agrees with it or not, it should be enforced correctly - hence her
involvement in trying to help Corey. I certainly respect her
dedication to that philosophy. This is the second time she has been
involved helping a student in a case where that student was
improperly charged with carrying on school property.
I will advise as this case progresses. Hopefully I will know soon if
there are any mitigating circumstances in this case that haven't come
out yet.
Here is the original article (thanks to Andy Barr):
http://tinyurl.com/p4y66
***************************************************************************
VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL).
VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to
defending the human rights of all Virginians. The membership considers
the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms to be an essential human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
posted by LONGWATCH at 5:43 PM
2 Comments:
Yeah it is interesting, I saw the story a few days ago and thought that the kid wasn't doing anything illegal.
i went to the school. to me he was an ok guy. the school fucked everything up sending phone calls home saying we were involved. but still. nothing illegal here.
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