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DA refuses to return weapon after racist rally
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
DA refuses to return weapon after racist rally Doug Roper has hired an attorney to help him retrieve his gun and clips. By RICK LEEDaily Record StaffWhite supremacist Doug Roper wants his gun and bullets back. But Chief Deputy Prosecutor Bill Graff is digging his heels in on shaky legal ground over this one. Roper voluntarily surrendered his 9mm Glock to York Police on Jan. 12 outside Martin Library. The Mercersburg resident wanted to see World Church of the Creator leader Matthew Hale speak inside the library meeting room. On Graff's authority, police ordered everyone entering the otherwise closed library to turn over all weapons. "I told them to seize all guns that day," Graff said. "It was just common sense in that atmosphere." Graff said a woman pointed at Roper and said, "He has a gun." Roper complied with the directive and gave up his handgun and three clips of bullets and went into the meeting. After the supremacists and anti-racists left town, Roper contacted the city police seeking the return of his gun. The police referred him to Graff. "It was really quite cordial," Graff said of his phone call with Roper. "He was polite, I was polite. He said he wanted his gun back. I said, `No.'" Graff said he really wasn't as final as that. Although he admitted he would rather destroy the weapon than return it, he said he would give the gun back if Roper, who has broken no laws in York County, could answer one question to his satisfaction. "Why," Graff wondered, "would you drive two hours to a hate meeting with a fully loaded Glock and three full clips?" Graff said: "I told him, `The bar association is at 137 E. Market St. They can refer you to a lawyer.'" Now, Roper has an attorney, local defense lawyer and former assistant district attorney Marc Roberts. "Bill has no legal leg to stand on," said Roberts. "None whatsoever. I think this is just a matter of Bill Graff being Bill Graff. "I don't think this is a commonwealth issue. It's a city police issue. And evidently, they are deferring to his judgment." "I just want some common sense answers from him," Graff said. "Show me a (gun) permit and we'll talk." Roberts said Roper has advised him he is properly licensed to carry a concealed weapon in Pennsylvania. Attempts to reach Roper through Roberts and National Alliance deputy membership coordinator Billy Roper (no relation) were unsuccessful. "On a public security level, I sympathize with Bill's concerns," Roberts said. "But how many people do you think were at that rally - on both sides - who didn't walk up and surrender their weapons?" http://www.ydr.com/hale/1hale2.shtml