As an update to a recent case I had where a firearm was suppressed after a Mapp/Dunaway hearing, the Queens District Attorney’s Office officially dropped all charges against my client.
My client was indicted on Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree (PL 265.03), Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd Degree (PL 265.02), and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle (VTL 511). After the firearm was suppressed, the District Attorney was left with no evidence to prove their case. Rather than litigate the matter or appeal the decision, the District Attorney moved to dismiss all charges.
This was a happy result for my client who, before hiring me, was seriously considering pleading guilty to the top count and going to jail for at least three and a half years.
For first time offenders, Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2nd Degree is a class C violent felony and carries a minimum jail term of three and half years and a maximum sentence of 15 years. Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd Degree is a class D felony. Depending on the subsection of, this charge can be violent or non-violent. A violent D felony carries a minimum jail sentence of two years and a maximum sentence of seven years. A non-violent D felony carries a minimum jail sentence of one to three years and a maximum jail sentence of two and a third to seven years.
