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Judge OKs reduction of charge in gun case
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Judge OKs reduction of charge in gun caseMan who committed felony burglary in 1982 was caught with firearm while hunting in 1999. By William J. BooherIndianapolis StarNovember 29, 2001 FRANKLIN, Ind. -- Darrell C. Turner gained notoriety in 1999 when he was the first person in Johnson County charged with being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm, a new law at the time prohibiting such offenders from carrying any sort of gun-type weapon.On Wednesday, the 37-year-old Turner of Bartholomew County pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in an agreement with prosecutors.Prosecutors acknowledged he has shown he's a productive member of society as a business owner and family man who was unaware of the new state law and did not have criminal intent.Special Judge Brian Newcomb, in Johnson Superior Court 2, accepted Turner's guilty plea to criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. But he said he wanted more time to deliberate the facts of the case and thus postponed sentencing on the Class D felony, which carries up to three years in prison. No date was immediately set to conclude the case.Turner was a teen-ager when he was convicted in 1982 of felony burglary -- considered serious and violent under the new state law.He was arrested in November 1999 in possession of a shotgun and a valid hunting license by a Department of Natural Resources officer at the Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area. He was charged by the Johnson County prosecutor's office with the Class B felony of being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm. A Class B felony carries up to 20 years in prison.Turner was hunting at the time with a friend and admitted Wednesday he fired the shotgun while other people were around.Prosecutors said that admission enabled them and Turner to agree to his guilty plea to the lesser criminal recklessness charge.Turner testified Wednesday he owns a lawn-care company and has not been in trouble with the law since his 1982 conviction. http://www.indystar.com/print/metrosouth/thu/articles/felon29.html