In May of 2017, a ZLF client found himself charged with Carrying a Firearm Without a License when a firearm was located under the front passenger seat of his vehicle. Our client was giving a ride to a neighbor's friend when he failed to use a turn signal. A traffic stop was conducted, and without any prior knowledge that the passenger was armed, the passenger stuffed a gun under the front passenger seat of the vehicle. Both men blamed one another for the gun, and as a result, the police charged them both with Carrying a Firearm Without a License based upon a theory of joint constructive possession. To make matters worse, the client was held in jail on a probation detainer for a non-violent offense pending the resolution of the case.

Attorney Zuckerman conducted research on the passenger's background, discovering that he had prior firearms and violent crimes violations. Thereafter, he took this information to the District Attorney's Office, and after a fair review of the case file, the DA's office agreed to dismiss all gun possession charges at the preliminary hearing. On the other hand, the front seat passenger is properly facing trial for the firearms offenses.

The client's case resolved with a guilty plea to a Driving on a Suspended License violation for 60-days of house arrest. One week after the gun charges were dropped, the detainer was lifted and the client returned to work to support his girlfriend and her children.

This client was 100% innocent, and is grateful to the DA's office for their diligence in comprehensively reviewing the facts before making the right decision to only prosecute the responsible party.