Providence RI Firearm Case Following Domestic Situation Dismissed
Criminal Charges:
Man charged in the Rhode Island Superior Court (Providence County) for:
- Carrying a Firearm without a License, in violation of R.I.G.L. § 11-47-8 (a)
- Discharging a Firearm from a Motor Vehicle in a Manner that Created a Substantial Risk of Death or Serious Person Injury to Another, in violation of R.I.G.L. § 11-47-51.1
- Conspiracy to Discharge a Firearm from a Moto Vehicle, in violation of R.I.G.L. § 11-1-6
Case Overview:
Providence Police received several calls about domestic violence situation, whereby a man visited the home of his kid’s mother and threatened her with a firearm after observing another man inside her apartment. A physical altercation ensured between the former couple and the mother’s apparent new boyfriend fled on foot. Sometime later, the man returned and began firing shots. Witnesses observed him escape the area in blue Lexus SUV. By the time police arrived, the shooter was long gone. Shortly later, a witness located the SUV parked outside a local pizza shop. Police responded. As the driver of the vehicle exited an adjacent convenience store, police detained him and told him about their investigation. The man admitted to being the registered owner of the vehicle and recently giving a friend a ride, but denied any knowledge of the domestic incident or related shooting. The owner even consented to a search of his SUV which much to his surprise yielded an unregistered firearm concealed in the glovebox. Based on this discovery, police arrested and charged the man in Rhode Island Superior Court with carrying a pistol without a license, participating in a drive by shooting and conspiring with his friend to do the same. The friend was later arrested and also charged with these and even more serious offenses. The SUV owner hired Rhode Island Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this case.
Case Result: Dismissed.
The firearm in question had no fingerprints or DNA linking it to the driver. The driver made a statement to police exculpating himself and denying any knowledge of wrongdoing. Though he provided a friend a ride, he did not see, hear, or otherwise learn about the domestic attack or subsequent shooting. The man also did not see his friend with a firearm, let along hide one in his glovebox. Combined with these facts, Attorney Calcagni further argued that it defied common sense that if his client committed the crimes as alleged, why he would stop and patronize a convenience store in the same neighborhood where the offenses occurred, or allow police to search his vehicle if he knew a gun was hidden inside. Over time, based on these facts, Attorney Calcagni persuaded the prosecution to dismiss the case and its charges against his client, who worked full-time, was a father, and had no criminal history.