Is carrying a concealed weapon without a permit a misdemeanor or a felony?

[twoguns?]

BTW when I was arrested, it wasn't for carrying a gun... it was for carrying a knife with a spring-activated blade, which also falls under the same statute (but is so lethal that you can't even get a license for it! ) ......Would you mind sharing the details leading to this...altercation. You can pm me if you dont want it on public forum.
Im truly interested in what led to this...event.
Sonny

 

[henschman]

Would you mind sharing the details leading to this...altercation. You can pm me if you dont want it on public forum.
Im truly interested in what led to this...event.
Sonny

Yeah sure... this happened back when I was a Junior at OSU, in 2006. I had a pocket knife with a blade that pops out when you hit a switch, and goes back in when you push it the other way. I didn't think it was illegal to carry, since I knew tons of people who carried pocket knives with spring-assisted blades, including cops. I assumed (like an ass) that since such knives were so popular and in such common use, they weren't against the law... either that or it is some old anachronistic law that is not enforced. The way I got arrested was that I was headed into the Payne County Courthouse, to file a small claims suit against some guy who wrecked my car. I dropped the knife in the tray at the metal detector without thinking anything of it (this was back when you could still bring pocket knives into the courthouse, and I had done it several times before, just not with that particular knife). The sheriff running the metal detector picked it up, flicked the switch to make the blade go out and back in, and said "this is an illegal knife -- you are under arrest." So instead of going upstairs to see the Court Clerk, they took me down to the basement and locked me up. I got out on a PR bond, after Judge Stanos had a good laugh at my story. When I went back in for arraignment, the Judge offered me the 6 month deferred sentence, which I took.

As another fun twist to the story, before the 6 month probation period was over, I was charged with a felony by an idiot OSU cop who thought my AK pistol was an "illegal sawed-off rifle." That spawned a whole entertaining adventure in which I spent a night in jail, got out and talked to the cop's commanding officer, and got the felony charge dropped... only to have the idiot ADA amend the Information to charge me with a violation of the affirmative defense statute on ways to carry a gun (http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=69763)... which if you read it, does not even prohibit any activity or impose any penalties. The ADA tried to get me to plea to this violation, and to a revocation of my deferred sentence, for a $75 fine and no jail time. I declined. I got a good lawyer, and we set it for bench trial. When trial started, my lawyer moved that the case be dismissed for the State's failure to allege the violation of a crime under Oklahoma law. The judge read the statute, agreed, and ordered the case dismissed.

After making his ruling, the judge lectured me about being more careful about driving around with guns in my car, because I might get shot by a jumpy cop. The idiot cop who arrested me was there to testify, as was the idiot ADA who charged me with a bogus crime, and neither one of them got any lectures. I did later learn that the idiot cop got fired from OSUPD though (I'm not sure if my incident had anything to do with it). Apparently he then got a job as a cop somewhere in Tulsa.

I later learned the hard way that there is a 1-year statute of limitations on lawsuits against the State and it's entities, so I missed my opportunity to file a civil suit for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

This story is just one of many reasons why I thoroughly enjoy my job as a defense attorney. I haven't yet ran into another cop or DA that is as big of an idiot as those guys (which is probably a good thing for all of us), but I do occasionally get an illegal search/seizure/arrest thrown out, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

 

[twoguns?]

Thank You , interesting story. I can see now (never thought of it this way long ago) that that kind of knife ...could be.. considered illegal.
I was always told that it depends on ..what your intent is...ie: if your commiting another crime, criminal behavior.
Obviously that is incorrect. As you werent doing anything ..wrong/criminal.
The reason I ask is I know many that carry the "spring assisted" or flipper style, sometimes working you dont have two hands to open your knife.
I have talked to several Officers here and in Duncan area,they dont have a problem ...unless your doing something else , then it is most definatly going to be a ..secondary offence.
Thanks again ,and I will let my friends think about their decisions. Good to know this comes from a Defence Attorney.
Ill keep your info...on hand.
Sonny

 

[henschman]

Yeah, it's one of those laws that is very selectively enforced, I guess. The sheriff might not have actually arrested me over it if it was on a traffic stop or something, where he would have had to take me in and have my car towed and all that hassle; he might have just taken the knife and called it a day, or given me a warning. But I imagine this was such an easy arrest that it was worth it. All he had to do was cuff me and take me downstairs!