Los Angeles--The Office of the Los Angeles City Attorney filed a three count complaint against retired Chicago police burglary detective turned actor, Dennis Farina.Los Angeles City Prosecutor, Rocky Delgadillo wants to follow an unreasonable path of zero tolerance for gun possession rather than seeking justice.
It seems prosecutors want to somehow convince a jury that Farina Knowingly and willfully, violated the laws involved. That’s where prosecutors lost their way on this one. If Farina forgot he had that gun in his briefcase the required elements of the offense of, knowingly and willfully are just not present.
My sincere hope is that Farina does not cave in to some plea deal just to avoid the process. Farina should have no problem going to court and simply telling a jury he forgot he had that gun in the briefcase he brought in from Arizona.
Although there is a possible penalty of jail time it’s doubtful that would ever happen in this case even if Farina were to be convicted.
Farina was charged with:
Count One, possession of a weapon in a sterile area of an airport.
Count Two, carrying a concealed weapon on his person.
Count Three, carrying a loaded weapon in a vehicle.
The wild card in this case is the Supreme Court ruling due to be delivered on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms in the case of D.C. vs. Heller. That will happen on any Monday morning before June 23, 2008.
It may turn out that Farina was merely engaging in constitutionally protected activity if he indeed has the rights spelled out within the Second Amendment of our Bill of Rights.
The court discovery process will begin along with pre-trial motions made by the defense. These cases are never settled quickly unless the defendant chooses to simply fall on his sword.
Farina is represented by one of the finest criminal lawyers in all of California, Blair Berk. Ms. Berk keeps a low profile and carries a really big stick. I can’t think of a better lawyer for Farina. Berk is making her first appearance at The LAX Superior Court June 5, 2008 on Farina’s behalf.
Dennis Farina has never before been charged with anything more serious than a minor traffic violation in his entire life. There is no way this career lawman would have ever willfully, knowingly or intentionally brought any prohibited item on an airplane.
The complaint:
Read this doc on Scribd: 2008-06-04 Farina 8AWA01802[1]
Update: Denis Farina’s arraignment was continued until July 18, 2008. It’s expected that Farina will enter a plea of not guilty and the slow process to a trial may begin.
Of course all manner of issues may affect the progress or direction of this case. None the least of which is the Heller case that’s ready to be unloaded by the Supreme Court. Stay tuned…
Comments
These are the stories the gun grabbers love. So let's raise the bar and say it was darn stupid.
http://hi-caliber.blogspot.com/2008/05/law-order-tv-star-arrested-on-gun.html
Farina may well qualify under HR218. However, to qualify he would have to jump through hoops in the state where he resides in order to qualify on a firing range. It’s a time consuming pain in the butt.
I’m not sure just where Farina is a legal resident these days. It has more to do with climate, golf courses and film shooting.
If Farina has a civilian permit in Arizona or Michigan it’s good in most states and he does not have to do much else except in Illinois or California.
Nobody and I mean nobody would arrest Farina in Illinois even if he did not jump through the HR218 hoops unless he committed some real crime.
No cop anywhere should be arresting a retired cop for carrying a gun if they know he’s honorably retired.