Friend arrested in Illinois

[mrjarrell]

Your friend cannot afford to NOT have a lawyer. You can still do jail time for a misdemeanor. And it's Illinois, not known for having a friendly attitude towards gun owners. He needs a lawyer. Don't know about your buddy, but I do know MY freedom is worth what it might cost for a decent lawyer.

 

[hopper68]

And once it is done, get the resolution in writing. I know a guy who got pulled over in the early 70's crossing IL with a gun in the trunk. Do not remember the whole story but IL took his gun and he just paid a fine. FFWD to the 90's and he gets caught speeding. When they run him the old charge shows up as unresolved - he gets arrested. The records were lost or damaged at the courthouse so they had no proof that he had paid the fine or even seen a judge. A bunch of money to a lawyer later he was able to straighten it out.

Good luck to your friend.

 

[ABolt243]

ZWolf, I've contacted some folks I know on this side of the river in that area. They're passing it along to some gun minded folks in Mt. Carmel. No promises at all here, but I'm trying to find someone familiar with the powers that be in that area that might help your friend. If I get something, I'll PM you. Again, no promises, don't expect much, but I'm tryin'.

 

[ZWolf]

mainjet and mrjarrell we are working on having another friend help out with the money to afford a good lawyer.

hopper I will make sure to inform him to get the resolution in writing in case of any problems down the road.

ABolt if nothing else thank you for the effort.

And thank you to everyone for your input, I may be overdoing the "thank you"s but I really am thankful for your help.

 

[cyprant]

Best of luck

 

[mainjet]

This is one of those issues that people who carry guns should remember. It's easy to buy and carry a gun but if your not careful you can get your butt into some trouble with it. Saying, after an arrest, I cannot afford a lawyer is really a bad time to have such a thought.

The gun may have just saved your life but it is the lawyer that may keep you free.

It is a bad situation to be sure. But you need to be up on the laws if your going to carry. Most people on here will check the carry laws of each state they will travel through when they are going on vacation. If he would have checked the laws first he could have had no problem. He could have had the gun but had it unloaded and cased and there would not be an issue. He could have been carrying the gun unloaded and he would have had a misdemeanor but as it stands he could face a felony.

Study the laws. Have your friend become a member of a forum like this so that he is familiar with the laws. There are still many ways of getting into trouble even when your trying to do everything correctly. Yet you still do something that causes a problem and now you need a lawyer.

If you look back to a case where member BillB was carrying legally in St. John you will see that things eventually worked out for him. But that was after loosing his license for a good while and spending a lot of money on a lawyer that I am sure he did not want to spend or feel that he could afford.

Sometimes the dollar amount to keep you free is pretty high. Even when you are innocent. I suspect it is even more costly when your guilty.

Good luck to your friend. we all make mistakes. I hope he is able to get out from under this with as little pain as possible. Hopefully a clean record will go a long way for him.

 

[2cool9031]

I work in Illinois everyday. I wouldn't think of carrying there. It is the one state that doesn't allow carrying. To me that is just general knowledge. It is part of the reason I got out of that state 10 years ago.

 

[bwframe]

I'm really torn in different directions on this;
Part of me wants to rally our folks to make a national media test case out of this. Another part says this isn't the one for that. Our man here is just too naive about obvious things and possibly more.

 

[Westside]

I'm really torn in different directions on this;
Part of me wants to rally our folks to make a national media test case out of this. Another part says this isn't the one for that. Our man here is just too naive about obvious things and possibly more.

That is something needs to be decided by the guy who was arrested. If he wins and gets his gun back and walks away free and clear it is great for everyone. If he looses he is the one who could be spending years in jail. If an INGO'r wanted to start a fund to help him pay for a lawyer so he can decide would probably be the best option.

 

[mrortega]

I'm really torn in different directions on this;
Part of me wants to rally our folks to make a national media test case out of this. Another part says this isn't the one for that. Our man here is just too naive about obvious things and possibly more.

I don't see how this could be a test case. He broke the law plain and simple. What's to protest? Chicago and DC have been involved in constitutional test cases for several years now and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. This sure wouldn't come close to qualifying for that.

 

[mainjet]

He is not going to "win" anything. If he gets off it's only because the court showed leniency. It is illegal to carry a loaded gun in illinois. The guy was carrying a loaded gun in Illinois.

Life looks different depending upon which side of the bars you are on. When your on the outside of the bars is the time to work to change the laws. Once your behind bars for breaking the laws is a position from which you have little leverage.

Right now, IMHO his best decision would be to say "yes sir" and "no sir" and ask for the court to have leniency on him.

 

[bwframe]

I don't see how this could be a test case. He broke the law plain and simple. What's to protest? Chicago and DC have been involved in constitutional test cases for several years now and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight. This sure wouldn't come close to qualifying for that.

He was protecting himself and family, in one of the highest crime rate states in the country. It shouldn't be against the law.

Ask these guys:

...About twenty of them were in Chicago after a blizzard a couple of years ago helping the state get their power back up. While they were working they were approached by some disenfranchised youth that try to relieve them of their money. A handful of the workers drew weapons and informed the youths that they were going to keep their money for hamburgers and such. Said youths called Chicago's finest to tell their story of woe and said officers then went to the scene to arrest the Hoosier Hillbillies with their awful weapons. The Hoosiers said you can kiss my buttocks, and you better get on the phone with Daley and tell him if our guns go, we go, and we take our trucks and other equipment with us. Officers stated that after confering with the Mayor's office said Hoosiers can remain armed and continue their needed service to the state.

He said it was an interesting hour and that it does show that common sense can prevail when folks have 0 degree weather and no power.

 

[mrortega]

He was protecting himself and family, in one of the highest crime rate states in the country. It shouldn't be against the law.

Ask these guys:

I wouldn't consiser Mt. Carmel a high crime rate town. Besides if the OP's friend felt it was such a bad area he should have stayed away.

 

[Hammerhead]

Not the point. How often do we hear that "I'd carry and be a test case if I had the unlimited funds to fight it."

Not saying that the guy should be, but this could be the case that pushes either A) Illinois into carry (jury nullification) or 2) the Constitution being seen the way it should be, as the supreme law of the land, and gun laws as unconstitutional.

It's not my fight to say, but there's got to be one at some point. Gun laws do nothing but harm law abiding citizens.

 

[jeremy]

So has the "guy" been sodomized by the State of Illinois yet....

 

[04FXSTS]

Hammerhead said:
It's not my fight to say, but there's got to be one at some point. Gun laws do nothing but harm law abiding citizens.

Here in Illinois we have two cases in this fight; Shepard vs Il Attorney General and Moore vs Il Attorney General. I am sorry but I haven't figured out how to give a link to these so my short summary.
Shepard is a 70 some year old lady who has Penn. and Florida LTC but being in Illinois she was un-armed and left for dead after a severe beating by a career criminal.
More is an ex LEO who now is the civilian director of a correctional institute and no longer authorized to carry. He is joined by a farmer Charles Hooks who cannot travel across all his property without traveling on public roads. This way he must disarm while not actually on his property.
Both these cases were researched for a good amount of time to bring "good" cases to the courts. These are honest law-abiding people asking relief from unconstitunal laws of the state of Illannoy, not criminals trying to escape jail by a technicality. This is the same strategy that brought McDonald vs Chicago to the USSC with a huge win for all in the US. Jim.

 

[jeremy]

Hammerhead said:
It's not my fight to say, but there's got to be one at some point. Gun laws do nothing but harm law abiding citizens.

Here in Illinois we have two cases in this fight; Shepard vs Il Attorney General and Moore vs Il Attorney General. I am sorry but I haven't figured out how to give a link to these so my short summary.
Shepard is a 70 some year old lady who has Penn. and Florida LTC but being in Illinois she was un-armed and left for dead after a severe beating by a career criminal.
More is an ex LEO who now is the civilian director of a correctional institute and no longer authorized to carry. He is joined by a farmer Charles Hooks who cannot travel across all his property without traveling on public roads. This way he must disarm while not actually on his property.
Both these cases were researched for a good amount of time to bring "good" cases to the courts. These are honest law-abiding people asking relief from unconstitunal laws of the state of Illannoy, not criminals trying to escape jail by a technicality. This is the same strategy that brought McDonald vs Chicago to the USSC with a huge win for all in the US. Jim.

Shepard vs. Ill AG
Shepard vs IL Attorney General - IllinoisCarry.com

Moore vs. Ill AG
illinoiscarry.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=26176

 

[RMOR]

Too bad OP's American citizen friend has to go through this. Could possibly be a free man today if he would've had the gun cased (preferably broke down), magazines empty (separate from the gun) and everything locked in the trunk or truck box. And whether he was going to an Illinois destination or not, as far as the LEO is concerned, he should have been heading to Davenport, or somewhere else in Iowa, "just passin' through, officer, sir".

So far, though, my take away is "Illannoy"...that's good.

Hammerhead said:
...Illannoy...

 

[ABolt243]

Zwolf, check your PM's.

AB

 

[Archbishop]

If only we had a 2A to protect us from these trivial laws and imaginary boundaries...

Snerk