Vietnam Veteran’s Firearm Charge Dismissed in Pawtucket RI
Criminal Charges:
A 75-year-old Vietnam veteran charged in Rhode Island Superior Court (Providence County) for:
- Carrying a Firearm without a License, in violation of R.I.G.L. § 11-47-8(a)
Case Overview:
Pawtucket Police responded to an accident on a construction site. Apparently, while a dump truck was pouring out a load of gravel or dirt, the ground gave way causing the truck to fall backwards into a sinkhole. The driver, a 75-year-old Vietnam veteran was seriously injured. Rescue workers responded on scene and removed the injured man from the dump trunk for the purpose of transporting him to the hospital. Before his departure, the man warned police that he had a bag inside the truck that contained a handgun and ammunition. He intended for police to the retrieve the weapon so that it did not fall into the wrong hands. He hoped they would safeguard it until he could collect it later, once released from the hospital. Because the man did not possess a Rhode Island concealed weapons permit, Pawtucket Police charged him in Rhode Island Superior Court with carrying a pistol without a license. The man discharged his first lawyer and then retained Rhode Island Firearms Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this important matter.
Case Result: Dismissed.
The man possessed a valid license to carry firearms in neighboring Massachusetts, along with similar licenses in many other states. Under Rhode Island law, valid firearms license holders from other states may pass through Rhode Island in transit with their validly owned and possessed firearms. Attorney Calcagni raised this language from the statute in his client’s defense. Prosecutors were initially resistant. However, given the applicability of this language to the facts of the case combined with the man’s age, lack of criminal record, impressive military service record and more, the State eventually agreed to both dismiss this case and return the veteran’s firearm.