Marine faces 15 years behind bars for unknowingly violating gun law

By jnelsoninjax
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Grand Master

jnelsoninjax

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Ryan Jerome was enjoying his first trip to New York City on business when the former Marine Corps gunner walked up to a security officer at the Empire State Building and asked where he should check his gun.

That was when Jerome?s nightmare began. The security officer called police and Jerome spent the next two days in jail.

The 28-year-old with no criminal history now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three and a half years in prison. If convicted, his sentence could be as high as fifteen years.

Jerome has a valid concealed carry permit in Indiana and visited New York believing that it was legal to bring his firearm. He was traveling with $15,000 worth of jewelry that he planned to sell.

The online gun-law information Jerome read was inaccurate, however, and his late September arrest initiated what may become a protracted criminal saga. He hasn?t yet been indicted by a grand jury, but there may be little legal wiggle-room if he is.

?If he does get indicted, and they want to give him something less, then the legal minimum would be two years,? noted Mark Bederow, Jerome?s attorney. ?They couldn?t even offer less if they wanted to.? (RELATED: The Daily Caller?s Guns and Gear section)

Jerome isn?t the first out-of-state visitor to volunteer that they had a gun, only to be put through the wringer. In December, Tennessee nurse Meredith Graves noticed a ?no guns? sign at the World Trade Center site and asked where she could leave her weapon, only to face similar charges.

Also in December, Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler was arrested after attempting to check a pistol ? for which he has a California concealed carry permit ? at a New York airport.

The law in New York has the potential to wreak havoc on the lives of unwitting and otherwise law-abiding visitors, Bederow explained to The Daily Caller.

?The law itself is clear,? he said, ?if you knowingly possess a loaded firearm in New York, then you are technically guilty of a serious crime. The fact that somebody in another state has a valid concealed carry permit is, legally speaking, irrelevant in New York.?

But the recent spate of tourist arrests wasn?t what was intended when the law was passed, said Bederow. ?Subjecting the toughest gun laws in the country ? here in New York ? to subject these people to them is just not a good use of discretion.?

?The law is not equipped to deal with these situations, and they happen all the time,? he added. ?Here are people trying to be responsible.?

There is a significant degree of uncertainty regarding how the case will proceed. Right now, Bederow said he?s hoping that the district attorney will use discretion and recognize that his client ?is not a criminal.?

?I?ve been a law-abiding citizen my entire life, and for something like this to come down, it rips me apart,? Jerome told the New York Post. ?It?s like taking a good dog and scolding him for something he didn?t do.?

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Mentor

OOOOOOOO

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Ok, so 15 years would suck ...

but seriously?! This is crap. If you're going to take your GUN ... your KILLING MACHINE ... somewhere ... you do your bloody research. What kind of idiot doesn't check gun laws if he's taking something that can take a life with him? Sounds like a story that's not quite all there if you ask me. A marine would have more thought about his gun than that.

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Grand Master

jnelsoninjax

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...

The online gun-law information Jerome read was inaccurate, however, and his late September arrest initiated what may become a protracted criminal saga. He hasn?t yet been indicted by a grand jury, but there may be little legal wiggle-room if he is.

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He did check, now perhaps he did not check as thoroughly as he should have, but this seems more like NYC is doing things like this on purpose!

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OOOOOOOO

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He did check, now perhaps he did not check as thoroughly as he should have, but this seems more like NYC is doing things like this on purpose!

Sorry ... I'd call the NYC law enforcement with a phone ... you never rely on online crap for stuff this big.

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-Alex-

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Sorry ... I'd call the NYC law enforcement with a phone ... you never rely on online crap for stuff this big.

And if he'd checked NYC's website and they were the ones out-of-date?

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ILikeTobacco

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And if he'd checked NYC's website and they were the ones out-of-date?

Not to mention government workers say wrong things all the time like the lady who was told she couldn't get her voters card when she could.

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Reacon

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How do the criminals get their guns if they are banned in NYC? Oh, I guess banning firearms doesn't really work. All it does is deprive law abiding citizens like this man of a way to protect themselves. He was carrying 15k worth of jewelry, after all. I'd bring along my "killing-machine" as well if I had a small fortune to protect.

This entire case is more than stupid.

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Grand Master

Gone

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Ok, so 15 years would suck ...

but seriously?! This is crap. If you're going to take your GUN ... your KILLING MACHINE ... somewhere ... you do your bloody research. What kind of idiot doesn't check gun laws if he's taking something that can take a life with him? Sounds like a story that's not quite all there if you ask me. A marine would have more thought about his gun than that.

It only takes a life if he means it to, and in the Marine Corps we know how to responsibly use firearms, and also have a general knowlege of gun laws.. Too bad the state websites are ****ty, and it takes an arm and a leg to get something legit. A Marine (<- note the Capitol, because it is a proper noun) usually gets stationed in a different state than where he/she is from, and seeing as he has a firearm, it is safe to assume he also had one in his duty station state. He had to learn the laws of that state, as well as him probably knowing the gun laws in his own state. So this is probably some dumb ass security officer that has a complex of being in charge. The guy asked him where he could check in his gun, NOT threatening him. But yes, there must be something else there.

Btw, from a generalization, you UK reisdents seem to think that a gun law is going to make you safter. Just because a law says "Don't bring your firearm into a building" doesn't mean that magically the gun is more dangerous in a building, nor is a law stating that a firearms are prohibited in a federal building [which they are prohibited on EVERY federal installation/building, as well as all schools and hospitals] mean that firearms won't be brought into one.

Now that I've written this, is the Empire State building a federal building?

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thejohnnyq

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This is sad, but not sure where he got the bad info. New York has no Reciprocity with anyone,

I have only seen a few places at you check your guns at (police or fed office, gun shops, etc), but your are normally to store your self, with the exception of military bases. This was made clear in my CCW classes. It is also a violation to enter a place with a sign to ask where to store a gun.

When I got my first CCW permit in new jersey, I was warned several times never to take the gun to New York for any reason, my permit would not be honored there.

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Miuku.

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How do the criminals get their guns if they are banned in NYC? Oh, I guess banning firearms doesn't really work. All it does is deprive law abiding citizens like this man of a way to protect themselves. He was carrying 15k worth of jewelry, after all. I'd bring along my "killing-machine" as well if I had a small fortune to protect.

I feel sad that you live in a country where you have to carry a gun to feel safe. Perhaps the issue isn't with the laws but the people.

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Grand Master

Gone

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Ignorence of the law is not an excuse.

When the law is not clear, it is the fault of the law makers. When laws on official websites state opposite to what is being enforced, then there is an excuse, as obviously an attempt to follow the law was made, despite them not keeping up to date.

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Rohdekill

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A sign that says no guns allowed, with a gun on you.

Now that makes no sense. If it's illegal to have a gun anywhere in the area, then why the need for a sign on the building? Or, is it just so they can create another violation?

I'm surprised they don't have a sign outlawing ammo from being brought in, then they could have jacked up even more charges...one per round.

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Gone

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Now that makes no sense. If it's illegal to have a gun anywhere in the area, then why the need for a sign on the building? Or, is it just so they can create another violation?

I'm surprised they don't have a sign outlawing ammo from being brought in, then they could have jacked up even more charges...one per round.

I've seen that before, on base: 11 accounts of felony... 1 felony for each round as each round was "intent to kill". The weapon was locked in the trunk inside of a case, but the idiot kept it loaded.

I feel sad that you live in a country where you have to carry a gun to feel safe. Perhaps the issue isn't with the laws but the people.

The right to bear arms is a basic right in our country [unless you have a felony or are mentally unstable]. It is not sad, as your statement can be flipped to state this: "I feel sad to live in a country that I need a military to feel safe." On another note, big cities in America have more crime and the guy had $15k of jewelry on him to sale. I wouldn't want to get mugged and NYC is a great place for it... I do agree with it being sad not to trust people, but I do not agree with you generalizing my whole country off incidences like such.

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thejohnnyq

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Now that makes no sense. If it's illegal to have a gun anywhere in the area, then why the need for a sign on the building? Or, is it just so they can create another violation?

I'm surprised they don't have a sign outlawing ammo from being brought in, then they could have jacked up even more charges...one per round.

New York allow CCW on a very limited basis. If you have power or money, you can get a permit, but you have to follow the signs, and not carry in certain places. They do not allow anyone out of state (general public) to carry even if they have a permit from their state.

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M_Lyons10

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Ok, so 15 years would suck ...

but seriously?! This is crap. If you're going to take your GUN ... your KILLING MACHINE ... somewhere ... you do your bloody research. What kind of idiot doesn't check gun laws if he's taking something that can take a life with him? Sounds like a story that's not quite all there if you ask me. A marine would have more thought about his gun than that.

Agreed, but at what point do you say that one state should at the very least respect another state's carry permit in a case like this? Clearly he asked where he should check it... It's not like they did anything shady or malicious... And having a carry permit in another state should at least allow you to check your weapon in another...

The whole thing is absurd.

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Rohdekill

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When the law is not clear, it is the fault of the law makers. When laws on official websites state opposite to what is being enforced, then there is an excuse, as obviously an attempt to follow the law was made, despite them not keeping up to date.

You are about as wrong as wrong could get.

1. His source was not an "official website".

2. Websites are often never up to date and anything official usually includes a disclaimer as to the site's accuracy and how/where to obtain the most up to date information.

3. Ignorance or being mis-informed is not a valid excuse in any court of law.

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