NC Court of Appeals dismisses gun charge against homeless man visiting UNC Hospital
The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday threw out the conviction of Joseph John Radomski III, a homeless man who was convicted for possession of a firearm on educational property.
In June 2021, Radomski drove to University of North Carolina Hospital for treatment related to a temporary kidney shunt. Radomski parked in the open-air lot nearest the Taylor Campus Health building in a spot designated as handicapped parking.
[...]
Radomski, acknowledged that he had firearms in the vehicle, and was living in his vehicle at the time.
The officer recovered six long guns including an SKS black semi-automatic rifle, a magazine, several rounds of ammunition, several other semi-automatic rifles, and a Winchester 1400 shotgun.
At Radomski’s jury trial in 2022 he was found guilty of one count of possession of a firearm on educational property and the judge ordered his sentence of 5 to 15 months to be suspended, placing him on 12 months of supervised probation.
[...]
But, in an opinion authored by Judge Hunter Murphy and joined by Judge Jeffery Carpenter, the court agreed with Radomski that the purpose of the “open-air parking lot situated between the emergency room entrance, a football arena, and another healthcare building” is not educational in nature. Chief Judge Chris Dillon authored brief concurring opinion. All three judges are Republicans.
The panel found that the lot was merely “functional” providing parking access while Radomski was trying to have his health concerns addressed. Therefore, the statute that banned the possession of a firearm on educational property was unconstitutional as it was applied to Radomski.
