Blog
Accidental Discharge & Reckless Endangerment Gun Charges
Contents
Dealing With Accidental Discharge and Reckless Endangerment Gun Charges
Getting arrested and charged with a gun crime can be an incredibly stressful and scary situation. Even if it was truly an accident or you didn’t intend any harm, the legal consequences can still be severe. I totally get why you’d be freaking out trying to figure out what happens next.
Understanding the Charges
If you’ve been accused of accidental discharge of a firearm or reckless endangerment with a weapon in Arizona, the first thing you need to understand are the specifics of the charges and potential penalties.
- Accidental Discharge refers to negligently firing a gun without intention or purpose. It’s often charged as a misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to 6 months in jail. However, if the accidental shooting causes injury or death, it can be charged as a felony with much harsher consequences.
- Reckless Endangerment is when you take an action that creates substantial and unjustifiable risk of injury or harm to others. For example, wildly shooting a gun in a public area. It’s generally a felony charge in Arizona, punishable by over a year in state prison.
The severity of the charges often depends on things like if anyone was injured, the circumstances leading up to the incident, and your criminal history. A skilled criminal defense lawyer can help negotiate the charges and push for lesser penalties.
Finding an Experienced Lawyer
The absolute most important thing you can do after being arrested on gun charges is hire a qualified criminal defense attorney. Don’t say anything to the police until you have legal representation. A lawyer can help protect your rights, advocate for you before charges are filed, assist with bail and pretrial release, and start building your defense strategy.
When researching defense lawyers, look for these important qualifications:
- Specialization in gun & weapons charges – You want an attorney with specific experience dealing with accidental discharge and reckless endangerment cases. They’ll know all the intricacies of local gun laws and how to defend against these accusations.
- Trial experience – If pleading out doesn’t seem right for your situation, you need a lawyer with a proven ability to take cases to trial and win. Look over their past case results and client testimonials to confirm they have courtroom skills.
- Negotiation skills – Even if you aren’t going to trial, a lawyer still needs to negotiate firmly with prosecutors for charge reductions, diversion programs, or other alternative sentencing options. Highlighted experience in plea bargaining is a plus.
- Resources & expertise – Top attorneys have the investigative resources and partnerships with expert witnesses that can critically impact your defense. Make sure they have the expertise needed for ballistics analysis, crime scene reconstruction, etc.
Building Your Defense Strategy
Working closely with your attorney, you’ll want to start gathering evidence and planning your legal defense strategy. This is where an experienced lawyer’s perspective can be invaluable.
- Investigating the incident – Thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the event can uncover additional witnesses, physical evidence, and other facts that may exonerate you or mitigate the charges.
- Reviewing the evidence – Police reports, forensic analysis, and other evidence collected will need to be meticulously reviewed to identify inconsistencies, procedural mistakes, testing errors, etc that can undermine the prosecution’s case.
- Preparing your testimony – Your lawyer will help prepare you to deliver clear, concise testimony on what happened if you choose to take the stand at trial. You’ll practice responding to tough questioning and avoiding statements that could be used against you.
- Seeking expert witnesses – Firearms specialists, crime scene analysts, and other expert witnesses may be called to evaluate physical evidence and provide testimony that calls into question whether the shooting was truly reckless or accidental.
As the case progresses, your attorney will advise if a plea bargain or trial seems advisable based on the available defenses and state’s willingness to negotiate. Don’t hesitate to get a second legal opinion if you lose confidence in your lawyer’s strategy.
Possible Defenses in Gun Cases
Depending on the unique details of your arrest, potential defenses your attorney may pursue could include:
- Self-defense – Arguing your actions were legally-justified self-defense against threat of violence. The burden may fall on you to prove reasonableness of force used.
- Necessity/Duress – Claiming external threats or coercion forced you to recklessly discharge the firearm. The defense must establish immediacy and credibility of threats.
- Lack of intent – Demonstrating the shooting was a pure accident and you had no criminal intent or negligence. Difficult defense requiring extensive evidence.
- Invalid search – Seeking to have key evidence excluded because it was obtained improperly without a warrant or probable cause.
- Incorrect technical procedures – Identifying flaws in how weapons/ballistics tests were conducted or how evidence was handled. Can undermine reliability of results.
- Unfair bias – Presenting evidence of discrimination, coercion of testimony, credibility biases or other prejudicial flaws that corrupted the impartiality of investigation.
A combination of multiple defenses may ultimately provide the best chance at an acquittal or mitigation of criminal penalties.
What to Expect After an Arrest on Gun Charges
The typical process after getting arrested on gun-related charges involves:
- Booking & bail hearing – You’ll have initial booking followed by a hearing to determine if pretrial release is appropriate based on flight risk and public safety.
- First court appearance – At an arraignment hearing charges will be formally presented and you’ll enter an initial plea of guilty or not guilty.
- Preliminary hearings – Early court appearances will establish probable cause for charges, allow both sides to evaluate evidence, and consider dismissal or plea bargain options.
- Pre-trial procedures – Extensive lead up to trial may involve filing of motions, more investigation, negotiations, and attempts to resolve without trial.
- Trial – If no plea agreement reached, case heads to trial where prosecution must prove charges beyond reasonable doubt to earn conviction.
This entire process can take over a year in complex cases. An experienced criminal lawyer will guide you through each phase, protect your rights, and build the strongest case possible in your defense. Don’t hesitate to reach out for legal help.
Finding the Right Lawyer for You
If you or a loved one has been arrested on charges of reckless endangerment or accidental discharge in Arizona or anywhere in the United States, the defense attorneys at [My Firm] are here to help. For over 15 years, we have specialized in defending against complex weapons charges and have an excellent track record of earning dismissals, acquittals, and charge reductions for clients facing similar accusations.
We have extensive firearms expertise from our work investigating ballistics evidence and questioning so-called “expert” witnesses. We also aren’t afraid to take tough cases to trial when we uncover flaws in the prosecution’s arguments – which happens more often than you might think. Our entire team is dedicated to protecting your rights and resolving these charges as favorably as possible.
To schedule a free case evaluation and discuss your defense options with our experienced gun crimes lawyer, don’t hesitate to contact our office today. The sooner we can get involved after an arrest, the better we can position you for success. With our help, these charges do not have to define or ruin your life. We’re here to listen and develop a customized defense strategy.