There are many areas of the law that people do not understand nearly as well as those who are tasked with enforcement. For example, did you know that you could get arrested and convicted on a weapons charge even if the weapon in question does not exist?
That is the situation that one New York man found himself in recently. He was arrested, charged and pleaded guilty to helping to build a weapon that, by some accounts, is unlikely to ever exist. Now he is awaiting sentencing. His alleged co-conspirator recently pleaded not guilty to a number of weapons offenses. The two men could each be facing several years in prison for their plot to build a poisonous X-ray beam.
According to reports, the two men planned to build a gun that would be mobile and operated remotely. The imagined weapon would apparently be able to shoot poisonous doses of radiation silently, killing the intended targets. The weapon was never built and no one was ever injured in the two men’s elaborate plot, but authorities were not taking the situation lightly. The two men were charged with participating in a terror plot to build and use the weapon of mass destruction and for disseminating information related to weapons.
If and when a person is charged with a crime related to a weapon, real or imagined, he or she could end up facing very serious criminal consequences. Charges such as illegal possession of a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon, and other similar offenses are prosecuted very aggressively in New York. People who are facing these or other weapons charges may want to consider speaking with an attorney who understands how significantly a conviction can impact their future, criminal record, and freedom.