In Westchester County, NY custody of an illegal weapon is a very serious concern. The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office works diligently to prosecute anyone charged with a Gun crime, also known as Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

New York State law at this time has a sentence which is mandatory for the felony conviction of gun possession if it is illegal. That sentence is a minimum of 3.5 years in prison. A Westchester County Criminal Lawyer will clarify in detail if there is any exclusions to the mandatory minimum for you. Sometimes, there may be mitigating situations which could reduce charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. One such example is if the gun is not functioning or defective. Another illustration is called Transitory Possession, in which the accused is discovered to have innocently possessed a handgun or gun for a temporary time.

One may claim Transitory Possession if the purpose of carrying the gun or weapon was for safety reasons. The person may have secured the weapon with the intent to transport it to law enforcement or another agency to maintain safety on the streets. Transitory possession is deemed an absolute defense, and once proven, cases are dismissed.

Some additional defenses in a weapon or gun crime case are:

An unloaded gun at your home or workplace may reduce a gun charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. In this case, the minimum jail requirement that is mandatory would not be applicable.

If an illegal search is performed by Westchester County Police, the evidence obtained from said search could be suppressed. Since the discovery of guns or weapons as a result of improper search would not be permitted, the case would be dismissed.

One of our Gun Crime lawyers assembled this short list of common types of weapons considered illegal to have in your possession in Westchester County and throughout New York State.

• Sword or Cane Knife
• Switchblade
• Chukka Sticks
• Black Jack
• Gravity Knife
• Billy Club
• Brass Knuckles

You must also understand that to brandish one of the above weapons, or any type of item such as a screw driver or razor, displaying an intent wield it as a weapon, expect the police to arrest and charge you with Weapons Possession.

Westchester County has different registration requirements than New York City, however they still vigorously enforce gun laws. If you are discovered with a weapon or gun in your possession in Westchester County, consider yourself warned that the Judges are infamous for imposing extremely high bails and some of the most rigid sentencing for gun cases.

Westchester County Criminal Lawyers at Stephen Bilkis & Associates have considerable expertise and knowledge in the handling of cases for Gun Crimes and Weapons Possession. Every one of our Criminal lawyers is approachable and willing to give you the individual attention you deserve. We have offices throughout New York including Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, New York City, and Suffolk County as well as Nassau County and Westchester County of course. Please call 1-800-NY-NY-LAW for your free consultation. We are have experience handling other crimes that utilize guns like rape, kidnapping, assault, murder, and Bank robbery.