Attorney Art Frost represented a client, N.C.P., who was falsely accused of criminal possession of a defaced shotgun. In New York, a person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree when they knowingly possess a weapon that has been defaced for concealment, the prevention of crime detection, or misrepresenting the identity of such weapon. Although N.C.P. went to trial for his charges with another lawyer in 2019, the jury was deadlocked after three days of deliberation and the court declared a mistrial as a result.
Thus, N.C.P. turned to Mr. Frost to defend his rights and fight for his freedom. N.C.P. insisted he was innocent, rejecting a plea bargain that would have resulted in less prison time than what he was originally facing. As such, Mr. Frost applied a different approach to his client’s defense strategy by taking the case to a new trial.
The outcome? Our lawyer not only proved that N.C.P. did not possess the gun but also that the gun was not even a shotgun. For clarity, New York statutes define “shotgun” as a weapon designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder and use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire either a ball shot or a single projectile through a smooth bore for each single pull of the trigger. The issue here was whether the gun – which had no stock on it – was “intended to be fired from the shoulder.” By using the prosecutor’s own witnesses as his experts, Mr. Frost was able to show that the gun could have had a pistol grip or a bird’s head grip and thus could not be a “shotgun” under New York State law. N.C.P.’s prior attorney did not think to pursue this defense at the first trial. Mr. Frost believes that made the difference between the outcome of the first trial and the second trial.
After only two hours of deliberation, compared to three days in his first trial, N.C.P. was declared not guilty and set free. He went home to his family that very evening.
Providing Fierce Defense Every Step of the Way
We are proud of Mr. Frost’s tireless efforts in fighting for justice on behalf of N.C.P. His relentless commitment and unique approach to the client’s case proved successful, allowing N.C.P. to go home to his family and enjoy his long-awaited peace of mind. To learn more about our firm’s success stories, please explore our case results.
Facing criminal charges in Troy? Put 50 years of combined experience on your side by retaining Frost & Kavanaugh, P.C. To get started, contact us online or call (518) 730-4222!