Legal Question in Criminal Law in Colorado

Reckless Firing of a Weapon

My husband fired a gun into the air one time in order to scare off two robbers. He then called the police to report the attempted robbery, instead of help they wrote him a ticket for recklessly firing a weapon in city limits. He has flow to CO three times for the DA to ask him to just pay the fine and pled guilty. This would ruin his career that requires a security clearance. He will turn to court in 2 weeks for a hearing or whatever comes after the Not Guilty plea. My husband is a victim of a crime and he is being dragged thru this court stuff. The DA refuses to drop the case. Are there any groups that help people in our situation?? This is costing us a lot of money. My husband may lose his job because of the absences. Can we sue the city for harassment or something. Please provide me with some hope on this. This is really devistating our family.

Thank you,


Asked on 4/27/07, 3:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Philip Rosmarin Rosmarin Law Firm

Re: Reckless Firing of a Weapon

On the one hand, it sounds like your husband showed great restraint firing the gun into the air instead of into one of the two robbers.

On the other hand, you don't mention whether the robbers were armed, where they were when your husband fired, and whether they might equally have been scared off at the mere sight of the gun. You also don't mention whether he was legally carrying the gun within the State of Colorado.

Even the police are forbidden to fire a weapon into the air to scare somebody. The trouble is that bullets so launched have a tendency to come down, at about 200 feet per second. Those bullets sometimes take refuge in people's heads or shoulders.

That said, depending upon the circumstances of the robbery, it might be unreasonable to expect him to act reasonably in the heat of an assault, and it does seem unfair that he gets slapped with a criminal charge while the robbers are off planning their next job. If your husband had instead shot and killed one of them, where the robbery involved an unlawful entry to his hotel room, they would have pinned a medal on him around here.

Apart from hiring an attorney to negotiate for your husband, you might try calling the National Rifle Association and telling them your story. They love stories like this and would likely do everything in their power to embarrass and shame the prosecuting DA into dropping the charge.

I'm sorry for the grief your dilemma is causing your family.

Good luck.

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Answered on 4/27/07, 10:19 pm


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