Firearms and Weapons Charge Lawyers In Bellefontaine, OH

If you’re facing firearms or weapons charges in Ohio, you deserve experienced legal advocacy that can level the playing field. Our firm provides discrete, professional legal representation to clients facing criminal charges in Ohio. We work tirelessly to protect defendants’ rights, provide them with a robust defense based on the facts of their case, and seek favorable outcomes for their charges. Our results-driven approach focuses on the facts and evidence in your case to cut through delays and help you resolve your charges as efficiently as possible.

Ready to put us in your corner? Then contact McNamee Defense for an initial case evaluation with a weapons defense lawyer in Columbus, Bellefontaine and clients across Ohio.

Types of Firearms/Weapons Charges We Handle

McNamee Defense can help you defend your rights and interests when you face prosecution for firearms or weapons offenses under Ohio law, such as:

  • Carrying concealed weapons: Ohio law prohibits concealed carrying of deadly weapons (other than handguns), a handgun other than dangerous ordinance, or dangerous ordnance.
  • Unlawful conveyance or possession of a deadly weapon in a school safety zone: A person may not knowingly convey, attempt to convey, or possess a deadly weapon, dangerous ordinance, or an object indistinguishable from a firearm in a school safety zone.
  • Possession of a firearm/weapon by a prohibited person: Ohio law prohibits fugitives, individuals indicted for violent felony offenses, convicted felons, or alcohol/drug abusers from possessing firearms.
  • Improper handling of firearms in motor vehicles: The law prohibits people from transporting loaded firearms accessible to drivers and passengers. Individuals must transport firearms unloaded, in a closed package, box, or case, in a compartment reachable only by leaving the vehicle, or in plain sight in a gun rack/holder.
  • Improper discharging of a firearm: A person commits a crime under Ohio law if they knowingly discharge a firearm at or into an occupied habitation, school safety zone, or within 1,000 feet of a school building with the intent to cause physical harm to someone in the school building, panic, fear, or an evacuation of the building.
  • Discharge of firearms near prohibited premises: The law prohibits discharging firearms in or near cemeteries, parks, schoolhouses, places of worship, inhabited dwellings (except for one’s own property), or public roads/highways.
  • Unlawful transaction in weapons: A person may not recklessly sell, lend, or give a firearm to a prohibited person, solicit a federally licensed firearms dealer to transfer firearms or ammunition in a manner prohibited by state or federal law, knowingly provide false information to deceive a private seller or federally licensed firearms dealer, or solicit or entice a person to participate in an unlawful transaction of weapons.
  • Possessing a defaced firearm: A person cannot change, remove, or obliterate a manufacturer name, model name, serial number, or other identification mark on a firearm or knowingly possess a firearm with defaced identification marks.
  • Improperly furnishing firearms to minors: The law prohibits selling firearms to people under 18 or handguns to people under 21, furnishing a firearm or handgun to an underage person except for lawful hunting, sporting, or educational (e.g., firearms safety, marksmanship) purposes, or furnishing a firearm or handgun to a person knowing that person intends to furnish it to an underage person.
  • Underage purchase of firearms: Individuals under 18 may not purchase or attempt to purchase firearms, and individuals under 21 may not purchase or attempt to purchase handguns.

Consequences of a Conviction for Firearms/Weapons Charges

A conviction for a firearms or weapons offense in Ohio can have numerous consequences for defendants. First, a conviction can result in fines and incarceration, with possible sentences dependent on the degree of the offense of conviction. Courts may sometimes sentence convicted defendants to probation instead of jail or prison time. Furthermore, firearms convictions can have various collateral consequences, such as the loss of the right to purchase and possess firearms. Finally, arrests and convictions for weapons offenses will result in criminal records that can impose a stigma that follows a person for years or decades, potentially affecting one’s employment, housing, and educational opportunities.

The potential consequences of a firearms offense make it critical to obtain experienced legal representation to pursue the best possible resolution to weapons charges so you can move forward with your life as soon as possible.

Defenses to Firearms/Weapons Charges

When prosecutors charge you with a weapons offense, you may have various defenses you could raise to fight the prosecution’s allegations, depending on the facts and circumstances of your case. 

Common defenses to firearms/weapons criminal charges include:

  • Lack of possession : Defendants may deny having actual or constructive possession of the firearm or weapon involved in the charged offense.
  • Mistaken identity/alibi : Defendants may challenge eyewitnesses’ identifications or present alibi evidence to deny being the person who committed the alleged weapons offense.
  • Lawful activity : A defendant may argue they engaged in lawful activity that does not violate the charged weapons statute, such as discharging firearms on private property with the owner’s permission, possessing firearms with the required licenses/permits, or furnishing firearms to an underage individual for a lawful purpose like hunting.
  • Unreliable forensic evidence : When a firearms case involves forensic evidence, such as ballistics or fingerprints, that purportedly links a defendant to the charged crime, the defendant may challenge the reliability of the evidence by questioning the prosecution’s forensic testing or highlighting the state’s improper handling of evidence.
  • Unlawfully obtained evidence or statements : Defendants may seek to exclude critical evidence from the prosecution’s case if police investigators obtained that evidence through an unlawful search or an interrogation that violated the defendant’s rights.

How Our Firm Can Help You Face and Defend Against Prosecution

Charged with a firearm or weapons offense? If so, a criminal defense attorney from McNamee Defense can help you stand up for your rights and interests and pursue a fair resolution to your firearms charges by:

  • Investigating your case to obtain all relevant evidence, which can help us build a robust defense strategy.
  • Reviewing the facts in your case to identify possible defenses or legal solutions available to you.
  • Helping you understand your charges and explaining the possible outcomes and what to expect in the criminal justice system so you can make informed decisions throughout your case.
  • Challenging the prosecution’s case at every opportunity, including seeking to exclude unlawfully obtained evidence or contest the sufficiency of the evidence to seek a reduction or dismissal of your charges.
  • Vigorously pursuing the best possible outcome to your charges, even if that means taking your case to trial to defend your innocence or reputation.

You need dedicated, experienced legal representation to defend your rights and freedoms from the consequences of an arrest and potential conviction. Contact McNamee Defense today for a confidential consultation with a criminal defense attorney to discuss your legal options for seeking a favorable resolution to your firearms or weapons charges.

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