Firearms and Weapons Charge Penalties Defense Attorney in Kingston, PA, Fight for Clients Facing Gun Crime Sentences in Luzerne County, Lackawanna County, Columbia County, and Throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania
How long is a gun charge sentence in Pennsylvania? If you have been accused of any weapons offense, the potential consequences of a conviction likely include at least some jail time. Exactly how long you could spend in prison if convicted depends on the specific charges against you and the details of your case. The Luzerne County gun and weapon charge penalties lawyers at
Muckler Law, LLC, can help you understand the charges and potential sentences you’re facing.
A strong defense strategy offers you the best hope of a more favorable outcome in a criminal legal matter. Contact us today, and let us start developing a legal strategy custom-tailored to your unique situation.
Gun and Weapon Charge Penalties in Luzerne County, PA
Across Luzerne County, defendants in criminal cases face serious gun charges. If convicted, the penalties they could be sentenced to are harsh. In many instances, multiple weapons charges can be filed out of a single incident. The possibility of sentence enhancements means the potential for even more jail time.
There’s nothing minor about the penalties you could receive for a firearms offense in Luzerne County. That’s why hiring a knowledgeable firearms and weapons charge penalties defense attorney in Kingston, PA, is so important for protecting your future.
Areas Our Luzerne County Gun and Weapon Charge Penalties Lawyers Serve
Lead attorney and founder of Muckler Law, LLC, Matthew T. Muckler is known in Luzerne County and throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania for his more than 15 years of commitment to fighting for justice. In addition to his experience practicing criminal defense law, he previously served as Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney, an experience that gave him valuable insights into how prosecutors approach cases.
Muckler Law, LLC, helps clients fight gun charge penalties in areas that include the following:
- Wilkes-Barre
- Hazleton
- Nanticoke
- Pittston
- Plymouth
- Exeter
- Hanover Township
- Hazle Township
- Plains Township
- Dallas Township
- Butler Township
- Kingston Township
With a local office right in Kingston, we represent clients all over Luzerne County and beyond.
What Is a Weapons Offense Charge Under PA Law?
Weapons offenses encompass a variety of criminal violations that pertain to laws and conduct involving firearms and other types of weapons. The types of offenses for which our gun charge defense attorneys may be able to assist you include:
- Illegal possession of a firearm
- Unlawful possession of a prohibited deadly weapon
- Concealed weapon charges
- False statements on gun applications
- Unlawful use of a firearm
- Assault with a deadly weapon (aggravated assault)
- Use or possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime
- Gun theft and illegal sales
- Weapons-related charges of reckless endangerment or terroristic threats
Offenses that could result in gun charges against you encompass everything from making false statements on a form to actually using the gun in the commission of a violent crime. Given the wide array of actions that could constitute a weapon offense, there’s also considerable variance in the degree of severity of charges and the potential punishments you could face if convicted.
Multiple Gun Charges, Harsher Sentences
It’s possible to be charged with more than one gun offense arising out of the same incident.
For example, imagine that you have been accused of committing a violent crime with the use of a gun that was stolen and carried in your vehicle without the proper license. You might face charges for the alleged act of violence itself (such as aggravated assault), as well as firearm theft (even if you only received stolen property and did not steal it yourself) and carrying a firearm without a license.
If you also were not legally eligible to possess a gun under PA law due to prior convictions or an active protection from abuse order against you, you might be charged with illegal possession as a “person not to possess a firearm.”
Each charge of which you’re convicted could result in additional penalties. This means a single event could send you to jail for several years and, potentially, a decade or more.
Naturally, the more weapons offenses you are charged with, the greater the potential penalties you could be facing. A keen defense strategy backed by compelling evidence and strong legal arguments may be able to help you reduce the impact of weapons offense charges on your life.
Hiring skilled Luzerne County gun and weapon charge penalties lawyers offers you hope for achieving a more favorable outcome in your case. This may include having the charges against you dropped or downgraded, being found not guilty by a jury, or receiving lighter sentences.
Are Gun Charges Felonies or Misdemeanors in Pennsylvania?
Many weapons offenses under Pennsylvania law are felonies, the more serious type of criminal violation compared to less severe misdemeanors. However, some gun charges constitute misdemeanors or may be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor, depending on specific facts of the case.
Examples of felony firearm charges in Luzerne County, PA, include:
- Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- Stealing a gun
- Receiving or selling stolen firearms
- Possessing or using a gun if you are a “person not to possess a firearm” under statute 18 Pa.C.S. Section 6105
- Carrying a concealed weapon without a license, if you’re ineligible to obtain a license to carry
- Intentionally making false statements on a gun permit application form
Examples of misdemeanor gun charges in Pennsylvania include:
- Possessing, using, or selling prohibited offensive weapons
- Intentionally failing to relinquish guns as required by an active protection from abuse order against you or knowingly accepting guns someone else has been ordered to surrender them
- Reckless endangerment of another person by brandishing, pointing, or firing a gun in someone else’s direction
- As a seller, failing to comply with gun laws under statute 18 Pa.C.S. Section 6111 of Pennsylvania law
Although felony gun charges are more serious offenses, misdemeanors also pose significant consequences. Proactively putting your criminal legal case in the hands of our Luzerne County gun and weapon charge penalties lawyers ensures that you have someone advocating for you and protecting your legal rights throughout all proceedings, regardless of whether you’re charged with a misdemeanor or a felony.
In addition to dividing weapons offenses into felonies and misdemeanors, Pennsylvania law also grades criminal offenses according to degrees. First-degree offenses are the most serious grade of either type of crime, followed by second-degree, third-degree, and so on (where applicable).
A third-degree felony carries a less lengthy maximum prison sentence than a first-degree or second-degree felony but is still punished more harshly than a first-degree misdemeanor under statute 30 Pa.C.S. Section 923 of state law.
Sentences for Gun and Weapon Offenses in Pennsylvania
In general, sentences for gun offenses in Luzerne County and throughout PA may include prison terms and fines. Fines for weapons charges can range from a few hundred dollars to $25,000. A prison term may be less than two years for some of the least serious gun charges in Pennsylvania, but in other cases, a jail sentence may amount to 20 years (for a single first-degree felony conviction).
Below are examples of the penalties you could face for different types of weapons charges.
Illegal Possession of a Firearm
For illegal possession charges that constitute first-degree felonies, you could spend up to 20 years in jail and be fined up to $25,000. These harsh penalties might be on the table if you are convicted of unlawfully possessing a gun when you are a “person not to possess firearms” and you either have a previous conviction of a serious felony crime or were in possession of a gun during such a crime.
If these additional factors do not apply and your charges for unlawfully possessing a firearm constitute first-degree felonies, instead, the most jail time you could face (for this specific charge) is 10 years. The maximum fine remains $25,000.
Misdemeanor possession charges involve failing to surrender guns (second-degree), accepting guns from someone ordered to relinquish them (third-degree), or intentionally returning a firearm to a person who is not legally permitted to possess it (first-degree). Potential penalties for these charges include up to two years in prison and $5,000 in fines, up to one year in prison and $2,000 in fines, and up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines, respectively.
Possession of a Deadly Weapon
For a first-degree misdemeanor charge of possessing or using prohibited deadly weapons, you could spend up to five years in jail and be fined up to $10,000. The same penalty may apply if you’re convicted of a first-degree misdemeanor charge of possessing instruments of crime or possessing weapons with the intent to criminally employ them.
Possessing weapons in prohibited places like schools and court facilities constitutes various degrees of misdemeanors under Pennsylvania law. The penalties for first-degree misdemeanors, including having a gun on school grounds and possession of a firearm in a court facility with the intent to commit a crime, may encompass up to five years of imprisonment and up to $10,000 in fines. Other violations of PA laws against guns in court facilities typically result in third-degree misdemeanor charges, which impose penalties no greater than one year in prison and $2,000 in fines.
Concealed Weapon Charges
Although open carry of firearms is legal in most of Pennsylvania (as long as you’re eligible to possess such weapons), you need a license to carry a concealed firearm or carry a gun in your vehicle. Doing so without a license constitutes a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by no more than five years of jail time and $10,000 in fines, if you are eligible to obtain a license.
However, if you’re ineligible to obtain a license to carry firearms, carrying a concealed weapon or carrying a gun in your vehicle amounts to a third-degree felony. You could spend seven years in prison and face up to $15,000 in fines.
False Statements on Gun Applications
As a third-degree felony charge, a conviction for knowingly making false statements on a gun permit application form could result in up to seven years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines.
Unlawful Use of a Firearm
How exactly you’re accused of using a gun unlawfully affects the penalties you could face if convicted of the crime.
Assault with a deadly weapon (as a form of aggravated assault) is generally charged as a second-degree felony. However, if the crime involves specific circumstances or certain victims, such as children under age 13 and law enforcement officers, it constitutes a first-degree felony. A conviction of this crime could result in penalties like fines as high as $25,000 and prison terms of 10 years for a second-degree offense or 20 years for a first-degree offense.
Recklessly endangering another person (REAP) charges related to pointing a gun at someone or shooting in their direction can constitute a second-degree misdemeanor for which the prison sentence could be up to two years, along with fines of up to $5,000.
A mandatory minimum sentence of five years applies to crimes of violence committed with guns under statute 42 Pa. C.S. Section 9712.
Deadly Weapon Sentencing Enhancements
When the crime a defendant is convicted of was committed with firearms or other dangerous weapons, state law allows for a deadly weapon sentencing enhancement that can add additional jail time to the base prison term allowed for the offense. A felony conviction that qualifies for a sentencing enhancement may add three to 18 months (under statute 204 Pa. Code Section 303.10) to each sentence to which it is applied.
Gun Theft and Illegal Sales
The penalty for the crime of stealing a gun, a second-degree felony in Pennsylvania, is up to 10 years in prison and up to $25,000 in fines. Receiving a stolen gun, also a second-degree felony, carries the same penalties. Selling the gun, if it can be established that you are “in the business of buying or selling stolen property,” is a first-degree felony charge that could result in up to 20 years in prison.
Gun sellers may also face other charges arising out of facilitating illegal gun sales. Failing to comply with the gun sales laws established under statute Pa.C.S. Section 6111 could result in facing second-degree misdemeanor charges, for which the penalty amounts to up to two years of jail time and fines of up to $5,000.
Every scenario in which you are facing gun charges in Pennsylvania exposes you to significant penalties if convicted of the crime. The best step you can take when you have been accused of these crimes is to hire a knowledgeable firearms and weapons charge penalties defense attorney in Kingston, PA, to fight for you.
Contact Our Luzerne County Gun and Weapon Charge Penalties Lawyers at Muckler Law, LLC, Today for a Free Consultation
The harsh penalties that could apply to gun and weapon charges are a very real possibility, but that doesn’t make them a certainty. With experienced legal representation and a strong defense, it may be possible to secure a more favorable outcome.
For help from a firearms offense penalties attorney in Kingston, PA, contact Muckler Law, LLC, online or call 570-908-4069 today.
