All Gun Charges Dropped

[xd ED]

Gun charges dropped against Vadnais Heights dad whose son allegedly threatened violence at school - TwinCities.com

All of the charges filed against the Vadnais Heights father of a boy accused of threatening violence against fellow students have been dropped, authorities say.

Christopher Stowe and his wife, Lisa Stowe, were charged last March after authorities executed a search warrant at their Vadnais Heights home following an incident at their 13-year-old son’s school.

During the search, law enforcement found what they said were illegal guns...
...The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office subsequently charged Christopher Stowe with two felony-level counts of prohibited possession of a machine gun and short-barreled shotgun and a third count of negligent storage of firearms, a gross misdemeanor....

...Christopher Stowe’s attorney could not be immediately reached for comment but he said in May that he expected the county would eventually move to dismiss both gun counts...

“As I said from the beginning, this is a classic case of government overreach,” Rivers said at the time

Hopefully this law-abiding citizen has grounds for a civil action against the sheriff/ sheriff's dept. for a publicity stunt gone sideways.

[Ghost]

Good

[Bearcatrp]

Glad to hear this. Hope he does take legal action against the sheriff for this crap. Dam democrat publicity stunt!

[Sorcerer]

The larger question is, when/ will his firearms be returned. Bet he will need a lawyer involved for there return........ years from now.

[Randygmn]

^^^^ but the largest question here is what compelled authorities to believe he was in possession of a machine gun and sbs? Specifically, what were the characteristics inherent of the firearms? What factors determined they were not what the authorities contended? These are questions that MUST be answered.

[Ghost]

^^^^ but the largest question here is what compelled authorities to believe he was in possession of a machine gun and sbs? Specifically, what were the characteristics inherent of the firearms? What factors determined they were not what the authorities contended? These are questions that MUST be answered.

[BigBlue]

The larger question is, when/ will his firearms be returned. Bet he will need a lawyer involved for there return........ years from now.

That's an important question. Better be soon!

^^^^ but the largest question here is what compelled authorities to believe he was in possession of a machine gun and sbs? Specifically, what were the characteristics inherent of the firearms? What factors determined they were not what the authorities contended? These are questions that MUST be answered.

My guess is that it was as simple as seeing a trigger kit or trigger parts near the gun. Of course in the mind of every gun hater is the assumption that gun owners do bad things and what else would you do with a trigger on an "evil, military-style baby killer" rifle than make it full auto. Then they sent stuff to BATFE who rolled their eyes and said "no, this isn't really what you want it to be... just a normal, legal rifle". Stop and think about it... how many cops (or any normal person) are going to know what AR internal parts look like and what the differences are between the pieces of a semi-auto vs. full-auto AR? To think the investigating officer(s) had any expertise there is unrealistic. See my earlier comment...

BB

[yukonjasper]

The other option is that it all got thrown out because of some procedural Ef UP that got it all twisted to the point where the State knew they would never win. Cases get thrown out when Due Process rules are skipped, Miranda violations, search warrant screw ups, could be anything and maybe a number of things. The authorities were in such a hurry to make a statement and catch a gun nut to hang high, they may have stepped on their own Schmeckel. Probably a good thing because it was clear they were expecting to Kangaroo Court this guy and make him a poster child.............

[Ghost]

The other option is that it all got thrown out because of some procedural Ef UP that got it all twisted to the point where the State knew they would never win. Cases get thrown out when Due Process rules are skipped, Miranda violations, search warrant screw ups, could be anything and maybe a number of things. The authorities were in such a hurry to make a statement and catch a gun nut to hang high, they may have stepped on their own Schmeckel. Probably a good thing because it was clear they were expecting to Kangaroo Court this guy and make him a poster child.............

If he had MG’s I don’t see that being thrown out over procedure

[Randygmn]

The larger question is, when/ will his firearms be returned. Bet he will need a lawyer involved for there return........ years from now.

That's an important question. Better be soon!

^^^^ but the largest question here is what compelled authorities to believe he was in possession of a machine gun and sbs? Specifically, what were the characteristics inherent of the firearms? What factors determined they were not what the authorities contended? These are questions that MUST be answered.

My guess is that it was as simple as seeing a trigger kit or trigger parts near the gun. Of course in the mind of every gun hater is the assumption that gun owners do bad things and what else would you do with a trigger on an "evil, military-style baby killer" rifle than make it full auto. Then they sent stuff to BATFE who rolled their eyes and said "no, this isn't really what you want it to be... just a normal, legal rifle". Stop and think about it... how many cops (or any normal person) are going to know what AR internal parts look like and what the differences are between the pieces of a semi-auto vs. full-auto AR? To think the investigating officer(s) had any expertise there is unrealistic. See my earlier comment...

BB

I think it was a bump stock or a binary trigger. And for that shotgun, could be one of those new birdshead shorty’s. This may come down to law enforcement not understanding the laws. Either way, that’s the main reason why I want to know.

[Grayskies]

I seem to remember a lawsuif about this, seems like it is more than warrented.

[BigBlue]

Here, per the Red Star article, is the "arsenal of weapons" found in this guy's home. Not sure which of those is a machine gun.

Bear in mind that if the police ever come for your guns (for a 'red flag' order or whatever type of thing the anti's would like to see passed) this is how they will treat your valuable property and family heirlooms. Piling them up and beating the hell out of them as they cart them away. Then probably dumping them in a corner of an evidence room. They will be trashed even if you ever do get them back. A$$holes.



As for the comment above about the charges possibly being tossed for procedural reasons, the fact that they say this seems to point more towards a misunderstanding of the guns than a procedural failure:

The County Attorney’s Office filed notice Wednesday that the case was being dismissed because one gun found in the family’s home was a semi-automatic weapon and not a fully automatic weapon.

One felony count was dismissed in May when authorities learned that a different gun had been wrongly identified as a short-barreled shotgun.
...
One gun was short-barreled, but it turned out to be a rifle and not a shotgun, which didn’t fit the state’s case or purview, he said. Federal authorities can pursue charges on short-barreled rifles, he added.

And then there's this:

Frazer said distinguishing between semiautomatic and fully automatic weapons isn’t always easy.

Yeah, especially if you have zero clue about weapons and make assumptions that people are guilty until they are not. Evidenced by the fact they couldn't distinguish a rifle from a shotgun!

And this is how the sheriff's office views the situation (per Chief Deputy Steve Frazer):

“I can’t say enough good things about the way the case was handled,” Frazer said. “The system worked the way it was supposed to work.”

If that's how it is "supposed to work" then something is broken. This family's life was turned upside down and property was confiscated and likely damaged. Nothing about that is right.

BB

[Randygmn]

Frazer MUST be fired immediately. There are ONLY two possibilities here:
1)he’s either an anti-gun, zealous ideologue,
OR
2) he’s irreversibly incompetent.
Oops- there’s actually a 3rd possibility. He could be both.

Considering the Second Amendment is near the top of the list, (being you know, 2nd) in the Constitution, of which he took an oath to uphold and protect, I’d say charging folks with a crime and at some later date, vindicating them, when it’s entirely avoidable in the first place, is precisely how things MUST NEVER BE DONE. Frazer should be personally sued into bankruptcy and then criminally charged for a hate crime for denying them of their civil rights. Time to flip the script.

[yukonjasper]

I agree. This would be an excellent opportunity for the Civil Liberties Union to get involved and fight back on behalf of these wronged citizens. OK I'll stop talking nonsense. Who could they reach out to. Clearly this was a rush to judgment, bad decisions made all around, all in the name of grabbing some headlines and making the top of the newscast with face time on TV.

I think you have both scenarios in play here - incompetent zealot. There needs to be a response - who could back these guys - NRA?

[Randygmn]

I agree. This would be an excellent opportunity for the Civil Liberties Union to get involved and fight back on behalf of these wronged citizens. OK I'll stop talking nonsense. Who could they reach out to. Clearly this was a rush to judgment, bad decisions made all around, all in the name of grabbing some headlines and making the top of the newscast with face time on TV.

I think you have both scenarios in play here - incompetent zealot. There needs to be a response - who could back these guys - NRA?

I read somewhere else today about a similar law enforcement overreach and arrests, when they shut down an open carry protest in Miami the other day (even after the protestors had the courtesy to inform the police beforehand with a telephone call). There was one particular comment that stood out to me:

Citizens have no legal defense when it comes to ignorance of the law. Why does law enforcement get a pass, without the pain of stiff penalties/consequences, especially when it’s literally their job to know?