quote:

Originally posted by dan03833:
Does that mean a cop wouldn't need a warrant to search your car?

No. This does not have to do with searching. It's saying that you can charge a person under the carrying a weapon in public without a permit (624.714) if they have it in their car and the car is on a public road.

I actually did this yesterday. Context: drunk, under 21, loaded rifle in front seat, crashed car on a county road. Coincidentally the driver was also a suspect in a rash of shooting power grid equipment with this same rifle, but my investigation was not complete yet.

The carrying a firearm violation in this case is now a gross misdemeanor which means he would have to stay in jail until he sees a judge, otherwise he would be released when sober for the DUI. Prior to this ruling, transporting the loaded firearm in the vehicle in this manner also would have been a misdemeanor and he still would have been released.

I still wrote a search warrant for the truck to obtain the evidence for the power grid case and I had additional time to do it and prove my serious felony case while he was being held on the GM firearm violation.

My county attorney will not charge bb guns as firearms crimes. I agree with this. The suspect in my case also had a very real looking Colt bb pistol in the vehicle with him, but we did not charge that