Client was charged with Second Degree Felony of Shooting a Deadly Missile into an Occupied Structure. Juvenile Defendant/ Client was with two friends. The client decided to shoot a BB gun at a window of an apartment in his neighborhood. When the client shot the window, it broke and the BB hit a man inside the apartment. The man and his wife, as well as his young child, were all in the residence.
It may we odd seeing that a BB was considered a missile if it is a part of a kid’s toy, but putting another person in danger where they feel like their life is being threatened is a serious offense. Many seemingly docile things can be used to harm another person, and in this case even a child that wasn’t thinking about his actions put an entire family in a bad situation. What made the case difficult was the fact that the criminal was a child – their motives and charges aren’t always the most easy to pinpoint. It takes an experienced juvenile lawyer to do work in this situation.
The Clients family hired Attorney Gergely to get the best resolution that she could possible get on the case. The Client had never been in trouble before, but because of the seriousness of the offense, the prosecutor would not allow the case to go into a first offender program. Also, after review of the discover, Attorney Gergely realized that the Clients friends were all prepared to testify against him in the case. Attorney Gergely was able to convince the prosecutor to drop the felony charge and let the client to plea to only misdemeanors. The Client was sentenced to only probation and will be eligible to seal his records as soon as he successfully completes the probation.
Firing a missile even as supposedly harmless as the one in this case can still do major bodily harm and cause anguish and pain to the victim. This being the case, the charges can be quite severe even for a juvenile. This type of case can carry weight for the individual well into their adulthood.
2011-CJ-001702
The Umansky Law Firm Criminal Defense & Injury Attorneys
