FELONY CARRYING PROHIBITED WEAPON IN PROHIBITED PLACE – AIRPORT
Case No. 1325239 – George T.
GRAND JURY NO-BILL February 3, 2012
George was an international businessman whose two oil and gas businesses spanned two continents and required frequent air travel. Due to a comedy of errors on the day of his flight, combined with several urgent matters in both his business and private lives, he got distracted and left his loaded Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistol in his computer bag. It was detected by the x-ray machine and he was detained by Homeland Security and TSA authorities and then arrested. Complicating the case was his prior Unlawful Carrying of Weapon conviction in the same county. He also had a felony conviction of Evading Arrest in Motor Vehicle. Our first order of business was to document the legitimacy of his businesses and reasons for air travel, as a large sum of cash was confiscated from his person at the time of his arrest, as well as his legitimate reasons for owning and carrying a weapon. Then, using employee and business partner Affidavits and letters and personal accounts, we carefully pieced together for the Grand Jury the personal and private upsets in his life that had combined to distract him to the point of forgetting to remove his weapon from his computer bag. We were able to do this in a sufficiently believable manner and to convince the Grand Jury that he was not a threat to any one’s safety, nor a terrorist – despite his past Weapon convictions, but was, at the time of arrest, a law- abiding citizen who had made a mistake.
On Oct. 28, 2011, the Department of Homeland Security TSA screener detected my Glock 19 semiautomatic firearm inside my computer bag that I forgot to transfer to my briefcase where I usually keep it. I was arrested. After a careful investigation, I decided to hire Carl Haggard to tkae my case, taking into account his prior experience as a Chief Prosecutor and many years experience as a defense attorney. This proved invaluable to getting my NO-BILL verdict. I highly recommend Mr. Haggard to anyone accused of a weapon offense.
~ George T.
FELONY CARRYING PROHIBITED WEAPON IN PROHIBITED PLACE – AIRPORT
Case No. 1287689 – Bryan T.
GRAND JURY NO-BILL
Bryan was going through a traumatic time in his life fighting his young daughter’s losing battle with high risk-leukemia. Due to the stress of this, he forgot to take his loaded .45 handgun out of his carry-on bag while boarding a flight for a business trip to Kansas City. He told Homeland Security a little too candidly, “I saw her [TSA screener] eyes get big and I knew my gun was inside.” .. giving HPD’s Homicide division and the DA’s office an opportunity to misinterpret and distort this to imply he knew exactly what he was trying to get away with. HPD Narcotics was also called as several types of controlled medications, including zanax, were found together in an unlabelled container. We compiled medical records and photos to establish the credibility of our defense of forgetfulness caused by the extreme stress of watching his child in pain and dying. Employment records helped us present the reason for travel – his prior company had fired him worrying only that his daughter’s cancer would interfere with his ability to work. We accurately portrayed Bryan as a conscientious gun owner who regards the right to bear arms as one which requires a high level of awareness and safety – but also as a loving father who made an understandable mistake after a sustained period of immense stress.
… before and after of my daughter’s journey through Hell with my wife and I along for the ride. This is a three-month snapshot of what cancer looks like. I appreciate your advice on how to convey how a person can get to the state of mind I was in. She went from winning the war on cancer to relapse… This [the photos] is straight and narrow is what was going through my mind as I was going through TSA security. Thank you for everything.
~ Bryan T.
FELONY CARRYING PROHIBITED WEAPON IN PROHIBITED PLACE – AIRPORT
Case No. 1068461 – James C.
DISMISSED
James, a professional for a government agency, boarded a Houston plane with a loaded gun. Mr. Haggard fought aggressively to get this case dismissed using the Grand Jury process, witness testimony, and circumstantial evidence to prove our client’s motives.
