“Yeah. So, the handgun was in the case.” “Was it loaded?” “It was loaded, yeah. And so, was it a can of rifle or was the rifle loaded, too?” “Round in the chamber?”
“Round in the chamber, yep.”
“So it was loaded, with a round in the chamber. To me, that makes it readily accessible.”
“Mhm. Okay. So, So, we were just talking. If I'm If I'm correct If I'm correct here, cuz you were the one that found it. You found in the passenger side behind the driver on the floorboard.”
“Yes, I got Yeah, I got the picture of it right here.”
“That's a positive. Yep.” “Got it. Okay. And then, um the two juveniles were in the backseat.”
“Yes, that's that's the photo of it right there. Okay.” “And that's before I even touched it and picked it up. So, it looked like he was probably trying to roll it and then when we rolled up he dumped it.”
“They're under arrest for marijuana.”
Officers discussed probable cause related to the suspected marijuana, noting that it appeared to have already been placed in rolling paper in a way consistent with a partially prepared joint.
So, whatever inside the vehicle marijuana, that's your PC for the adults for contributing to marijuana probably. And then the firearms being accessible for him. I know everyone can argue semantics that it's in a hand or not, but readily available to me means loaded and immediately accessible. Now, different if it's in a locked case on the floor and I got to unlock the case and grab it and compared to readily accessible is I have it and I can just pick it up and pull the trigger. And a holster set next to the seat, while officers were speaking at the door, the concern was how quickly it could be accessed.
“Yeah. Okay.”
“So, they both sound readily accessible. It's just like I said, it's going to be the articulation of what of the state. Like upon checking they both had full magazines or magazines however it is, magazine. Both had one loaded in the chamber. Okay.”
“So, they both definitely going to put him in charges and then so is the other guy, the adult the front passenger cuz he's an adult too, right?” “Yeah. Yeah, he's 20.”
The officers continued discussing potential marijuana-related and contributing-to-a-minor charges while separating what could be tied to each occupant.
“Yeah, I'm just tacking it on to the But the juvenile in the back that I got, he's definitely getting charged with it. Yeah, well it was definitely in his immediate possession. They don't want to talk, so.” “Okay, he was giving a lot of aliases.” “Yep. Yeah, we're”
“He originally gave the deputy another name.”
“And that's his mom saying, 'No, that's my boy right there.'” “You guys good back there? Is it too hot?” “All right, cool. You'll be all right. Just relax.”
Officers had no choice but to go talk to the mothers and explain what was happening. And before wrapping up, they gave the car one more search just to be sure they hadn't missed anything.
“Hey Sonesy. So the other one is going to release, too?” “Uh not just yet. Okay.”
“But we'll talk about it in a minute. Okay.” “And um he was in possession of Mhm.”
“He's in jail now. Can't do that. And also the long firearm was literally underneath him.” “But that's not his not his.”
“Constructive possession. It's right there.” “But if it's in he's in the car with this guy, that's his stuff.”
“I understand it, but it was literally right underneath him.” “It'd be a different story if he had it in the front seat.”
“Right. It was literally right underneath him. I even asked him before I even went back there cuz I was in the front area. When I took the driver out, everybody was like this, cooperated. I asked, "Is there any other weapons in the vehicle I should know about?" And then when the bigger guy here was plain as day, you could see it literally right underneath his uh his feet.”
“But it's it's not his. It's not his weapon at all. How do how can we” “You talking about the driver? The driver.”
“Oh, we're getting ready to hook him all up. He's getting all kinds of charges.” “But that's his vehicle. He's just in the vehicle. It's not his gun.”
“I understand but it doesn't have to be gun. If he's going to be in constructive possession like anywhere area and it was loaded on top of that. Fortunately.” “Yeah, it was it was ready to rock and roll.”
“It was literally dead I could I didn't see it, but as soon as the deputy opened the door and your son walked out, clear as day. It was literally right there. So. Again, these are the charges that he's going to take with him. So DJJ, doesn't mean it's going to stick, it's going to be up to the attorneys.”
“Okay. I'm just letting you know that's where per law it's going to go. Okay?”
“Yeah, they don't print all of that now.”
“Yeah, we got to do the we got to do their investigation portion of it. Um you know, I could give him a white band, but if he's in possession of it, you know, not literally in possession, but could be anywhere in this area. Doesn't have to be even though it's mine. You know what I mean? The driver definitely got a laundry list of phony charges against him. Um so yeah, go ahead and start.”
“Make sure you add with the minor.” “Oh yeah. Oh yeah.” “You're not giving permission to leave without me. Let's ask him cuz he's probably going to do it.” “Uh I can get my brother's phone.”
“Who's that?” “A family member tried to explain who another person was, but the exchange was difficult to hear.” “Just hold on one second.” “Another brief exchange was unclear as officers continued sorting property and evidence.”
“Just hang on. We got other stuff.”
The officers briefly coordinated how evidence and paperwork would be transferred among deputies after the shift.