Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

what constitutes reckless endangerment and child endangerment

On Jan 2 of 1999 My daughter boy friend brought a stolen handgun into my home and hid it in a closet without our knowledge. it was later discovered that he had fired this gun at 3 boys in a car over a small dispute. He was convicted of Assault with a deadly weapon and given 5 years probation. The hand gun charges were mysteriously dropped even though the gun was stolen in South Carolina and we live in Maryland. He carried the gun from SC in his car with his 1 1/2 year old daughter and my pregnant daughter. He hid the gun in a closet in a room in which the the baby was staying. Also in the house at the time was my other daughter, 7 years old who was extrememly frightened when the police came to claim the gun after he was locked up and we found it. My 7yr old had never seen a real gun before. We feel he endangered the lives of everyone in our household and we also feel that his punishment did not fit his crime. We are considering a civil suit and want to know if it is a reasonable suit to bring. The gun was left in our house loaded and easily accesable.


Asked on 12/22/99, 11:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert Sher Wagshal and Sher

Re: what constitutes reckless endangerment and child endangerment

While you may have a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress resulting from the fact that this charming fellow left a loaded weapon in your house, the real question you must ask yourself is what is the purpose of the lawsuit? If it is to obtain money damages from your daughter's boyfriend, how realistic is it that you would ever be able to collect anything from this person. If he's not already back in jail, is he worth anything? Probably not. Thus after going through the expense of a lawsuit and even if a judge or jury awarded you money, it's unlikely you'd ever see a dime.

It sounds like the prosecutors cut him a break by dropping the gun charge which carries a mandatory jail sentence, although maybe they felt they couldn't be sure of proving the charges in court. Your best outcome here is that this fellow stays out of your home and your life.

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Answered on 12/27/99, 3:21 pm


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