Thursday, October 2, 2008

Another open carrier arrested in Ohio

Another open-carry incident in the Buckeye State:
Greg Llewellyn, his girlfriend and four friends were sipping hot tea outside a West Side coffee shop on a recent August night when a pair of Cleveland police officers approached with guns drawn.
...
The officers arrested him for carrying a concealed weapon. Llewellyn protested, saying he was not trying to hide the gun, because Ohio law allowed him to openly carry it in public.

The officers didn't buy his argument and sent Llewellyn to jail and confiscated his rare pistol.

Unless he was truly trying to hide the gun, the law appears to be on Llewellyn's side.
...
Cleveland has a local ordinance prohibiting open carry, and police are under orders by Mayor Frank Jackson to continue enforcing the local rules despite the state law, according to Lt. Thomas Stacho, a department spokesman.

However, Llewellyn was not charged with violating the city ordinance, just the state law. Unfamiliar with the case, Stacho said that meant that the arresting officers must have felt Llewellyn was hiding the gun.
...
Llewellyn is a transplant from New Hampshire who has called Ohio home the past 18 months but has moved to several Cleveland addresses. A bicyclist who works as a bike mechanic, Llewellyn said he was robbed at gunpoint earlier this year for the $5 he had in his pocket.

He decided then he wanted to get a gun for protection and bought his pistol from a former roommate for $100. But because he had recently moved (and has since moved again) Llewellyn had not established residency for at least four months to qualify for a concealed-carry permit.

He then learned that he could carry openly until he could get a concealed license.

He was arrested on Aug. 18, pleaded not guilty last week and was assigned a public defender.

"I think my case is pretty clear-cut," he said. "Any lawyer who understands the law should be able to help me get this dropped and get my weapon back."

Article here. While not an option for the gentleman in the article, since he reportedly hadn't yet met the residency requirement to apply for a concealed permit, having a concealed carry permit has the advantage of not worrying whether the gun is concealed (even accidentally) or not. Of course, those in places like Texas, which I believe prohibits open carry, are stuck with concealed carry only.

1 comment:

Mike Stollenwerk said...

This won't happen for too much longer in Ohio, provided people keep open carrying.