Good argument for not Open Carry.

[Dragonfly]

Article in this mornings Richmond Times The price they had to pay

Henrico couple cleared of charges in YMCA bus incident

http://www2.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/ ... 06/308011/

RICHMOND, Va. --
A Highland Springs couple accused of multiple firearms and neglect charges have been found not guilty of all charges, ending a yearlong saga that has left them still together but bitterly scarred.
"We've lost so much," Brian Phillip Stephenson said yesterday, a day after a Henrico County Circuit Court judge found him and his fiancée not guilty of multiple firearms charges.
The incident Dec. 15, 2008, involved allegations that Stephenson, 36, and Patricia Edwards Murray, 27, followed an activities bus to the Sandston YMCA, pointing a pistol at children in the rear of the bus.
The two were arrested by Henrico police on multiple firearms charges and on charges of reckless disregard for a child, which stemmed from the presence of Murray's child on the bus and Stephenson's two children in the car.
Counselors were called to the YMCA in light of the incident, and children on the bus hid on the floor and covered themselves with book bags, police said at the time.
Stephenson said yesterday that he and Murray were jailed, they have lost custody of their children, their home is for sale and Murray has lost her job -- all tied to the charges leveled against them, they said. Together they faced 13 charges, six of them felonies dealing with reckless disregard of a child.
The couple said they followed the bus because it was Murray's then-7-year-old daughter's first trip to the Y and they were waving to her.
But the felonies were dismissed in Henrico Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court this year, and convictions on the firearms charges there were appealed to Henrico Circuit Court.
On Tuesday, after a three-hour bench trial, Circuit Judge Gary A. Hicks found the couple not guilty.
"There was a lot of conflict in the testimony, and for the first time Mr. Stephenson was able to say what happened," said C. David Whaley, Stephenson's lawyer.
Stephenson acknowledged that he had a .40-caliber handgun in the car but said he did not display it at children in the bus. The weapon was in a shoulder holster and had a dark handle, with the remainder of the weapon silver.
Testimony from children on the bus yesterday indicated the gun was dark-colored, Whaley said.
Stephenson had a gun, he said, because on the day of the incident he was also moving his two children from a Richmond public-housing complex to the couple's home in Highland Springs.
"I've been robbed twice over there," Stephenson said yesterday, referring to the housing complex. "The idea was to raise my kids in a better place, like Henrico."
After his and Murray's arrest, Henrico Child Protective Services ordered that they relinquish custody to the other natural parent, a situation that still exists.
"My oldest daughter was in the courtroom [Tuesday] crying that I was going to be sent to prison," Stephenson said.
The couple shared Thanksgiving with their children last weekend, thinking they might be incarcerated by today.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Alice V. Sheridan, who prosecuted the case, said last night that it would be inappropriate for her to comment.
Murray, though, said the couple has suffered repeated indignities, from slashed tires to name-calling since their arrests. The biggest insult she said was being fired from her job at United Way. "They told me because what I'd done was out in public, it was a problem for their image."
Stephenson said he has kept his telecommunications job and praised the support of his company.
"But let me say that the worst thing from all this, the thing that I will never get over, is that I was not allowed to attend my mother's funeral in Baltimore." Traveling out of state to Baltimore violated conditions of his bond, he said.
Today, the couple will celebrate Thanksgiving alone. "But together and free," Murray said.

[GS78]

ok I don't get it? when did he supposedly brandish the weapon?

[allingeneral]

That's absolutely terrible. Whoever filed the charges should pay for the horrific things that have happened to this family. These people will never be the same.

[GS78]

I still dont get it, something doesn't sound right. Am I to believe this guy was simply wearing a shoulder rig, and following a school bus? I don't buy it.

[gfost1]

Howdy, Y'all,

I would say that this is a good argument for more open carry. My guess is one or two kids, who maybe have no firearms experience outside of TV, or perhaps have a negative view based on exposure to bad adult role models in their lives, caught a glimpse of a gun in a shoulder rig and let their imaginations take over. America needs to get used to the idea that good people carry guns, too, and that won't happen until many more good people are seen doing it.

Regards,

George

[herohog]

Howdy, Y'all,

I would say that this is a good argument for more open carry. My guess is one or two kids, who maybe have no firearms experience outside of TV, or perhaps have a negative view based on exposure to bad adult role models in their lives, caught a glimpse of a gun in a shoulder rig and let their imaginations take over. America needs to get used to the idea that good people carry guns, too, and that won't happen until many more good people are seen doing it.

Regards,

George

BINGO! I bet this is the whole story in a nutshell.

[cigarmanva]

i'm seeing this as a good argument to do away with bullshit gun laws

[GS78]

Howdy, Y'all,

I would say that this is a good argument for more open carry. My guess is one or two kids, who maybe have no firearms experience outside of TV, or perhaps have a negative view based on exposure to bad adult role models in their lives, caught a glimpse of a gun in a shoulder rig and let their imaginations take over. America needs to get used to the idea that good people carry guns, too, and that won't happen until many more good people are seen doing it.

Regards,

George

BINGO! I bet this is the whole story in a nutshell.

well I still can't get my mind around how these people were dragged through all this mud because a kid "saw" a gun in the guys holster? I mean think about it, every person involved after the kid saw something would have had to have thought the absolute worst of this guy, from the bus driver to the police,social services,child protective dept, lawyers , judges....everyone. Im sure all these things did not happen in one day to this family....Do you think they made him a scapegoat ? I just don't get it.

[gfost1]

well I still can't get my mind around how these people were dragged through all this mud because a kid "saw" a gun in the guys holster? I mean think about it, every person involved after the kid saw something would have had to have thought the absolute worst of this guy, from the bus driver to the police,social services,child protective dept, lawyers , judges....everyone. Im sure all these things did not happen in one day to this family....Do you think they made him a scapegoat ? I just don't get it.

Since we don't have the whole story, I'm just speculating. Once the ball gets rolling in a case like this, someone with some common sense has to intervene at a pretty early stage to stop it from snowballing. So yeah, I can see it happening to any of us in the current climate with common sense in such short supply and fear so readily available. Not to say that the defendants were totally blameless, 'cause I don't know, but the fact they were ultimately exonerated leads me to think they were simply victims of the system. Think about it -- from the bus driver on -- police, Social services, CPS, Judges, lawyers, courts, all part of the same system, a system that will eat you alive if you don't know your rights, and sometimes if you do.

Regards,

George

[novasig226r]

All it takes is one person, no matter the age, to cry "GUN!" and the whole of society goes ape-poop. It's the same story all the time. Exercise a right that others don't agree with and the calls for banning come surging like a wild fire. We're all headed towards a criminalized population wherein everyone will be looked at with suspicion, have our actions tracked in massive "public safety" databases, and every word we say scrutinized.

What happened to due process? What happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? What happened to the Constitution? All these things are slowly eroding away because of "feel good legislation" and the peoples' inability to remove from office those politicians who would rather piss on the Constitution and wipe their asses with the Bill of Rights.

What happened to the oath of office to defend the Constitution from all enemies "foreign AND domestic"? From that news article, I'd say the only "evidence" was a kid crying about seeing a "mean old" gun which Elmo and Big Bird said was evil. Everything else was witch hunting and Gestapo tactics.

Be warned, if you carry a gun (openly or concealed) you're bound to find a jackboot thug pounding on your door. Be thankful if all you get is a tatooed forearm.

[BluemontGlock]

Unbelievable...

and she should sue the United Way...
they sux as a a charity anyway...classic for them

Tragic for the family...missed his mother funeral???

all because some kid cried wolf,...?
& i hope the prosecuting attourney was handed his ass for pursuing this...

[novasig226r]

i hope the prosecuting attourney was handed his ass for pursuing this...

Rather more likely that she'll be given a pat on the back and hopes for "better luck next time".

Prosecutors want convictions. At the end of the trial, for the prosecutor, a conviction means a job well done. That's why it pays to be rich in America. Generally only the rich can get the dream team defense attorneys.

Is hope coming?

I come into office with a mandate from the people of Virginia-- to alter the course of change, and keep that path free from insistent government intervention, government mandates, government control. In addition to standing guard over your individual rights during my tenure, you can count on me to stand guard against constitutional overreaching by the federal government, but only thanks to your support and your efforts.

[zephyp]

I still dont get it, something doesn't sound right. Am I to believe this guy was simply wearing a shoulder rig, and following a school bus? I don't buy it.

I've read a couple of articles written by Massad Ayoob where someone has called the cops on someone and accused them of brandishing merely because they had an NRA sticker on their vehicle. One article described a confrontation where one man followed another who had an NRA sticker and confronted him in the parking lot of his apartment building. The follower subsequently called the police and it was his word against the other guy. The gun owner lost. Moral of the story. Call the cops first.

[scampbell3]

I have read this article several times....I am at a loss to understand how this relates to the topic in this post