Charge dropped for woman who took gun to preschool graduation

[nolaradio]

There's a couple of incorrect statements in this article:

"From the start, Louisiana law appeared to be on Cage’s side. The statute allows registered guns in a vehicle, which is treated as an extension of a person’s home. WWL-TV asked a longtime defense attorney, and he agreed: “Is she in any kind of violation whatsoever? And the answer to that is no,” Craig Mordock said."



"Registered guns"? Not in Louisiana.
"Extension of a person's home"? As often as people like to say those words, nowhere in the Louisiana revised statutes do those words appear.

And this quote is laughable:
WWL-TV spoke Thursday with Sheriff Mike Tregre, and he defended his deputies, despite the charge against Cage being refused.
“The DA makes that decision. We did what we had to do to protect everyone,” Tregre said.

The deputies protected everyone from a pistol locked inside of a vehicle? Good job!

Charge dropped for woman who took gun to preschool graduation

Jaquanna Cage spent almost four weeks jailed on misdemeanor until DA dropped the case

www.nola.com

 

[Bam Bam]

I've driven onto school grounds many many times with a gun in my truck. This is legal as far as I know, but I guess that Sheriff interpreted the law differently. Sounds like someone had a ax to grind: The Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a tip about people taking guns to the graduation ceremony.

 

[swampfoxx]

"Extension of a person's home"? As often as people like to say those words, nowhere in the Louisiana revised statutes do those words appear.

If it it not against the law, then it is legal. If the law doesn't specifically prohibit it, then it is legal. The fact that those words don't appear in any statute makes it legal. For it to be illegal to carry in your vehicle, the state would need to pass a law explicitly stating this.

 

[nolaradio]

I've driven onto school grounds many many times with a gun in my truck. This is legal as far as I know, but I guess that Sheriff interpreted the law differently. Sounds like someone had a ax to grind: The Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded to a tip about people taking guns to the graduation ceremony.

The sheriff is incompetent if he thinks this is a good arrest.

 

[nolaradio]

If it it not against the law, then it is legal. If the law doesn't specifically prohibit it, then it is legal. The fact that those words don't appear in any statute makes it legal. For it to be illegal to carry in your vehicle, the state would need to pass a law explicitly stating this.

I agree. It's just one of those things that make my skin crawl every time that someone says it. People love to say that "extension of your home" is in the law.
You can't sit in a parking lot and masturbate and claim that it's legal because your car is an extension of your home.

 

[Manimal]

One day qualified immunity will go away, and when it does so will arrests like these.

4 weeks in jail because of a gun locked in a car, people should be seeing red over stuff like this. That Sheriff needs to lose his job.

 

[Big H]

Sounds like Andy let Barney go out on patrol again---

 

[thperez1972]

If it it not against the law, then it is legal. If the law doesn't specifically prohibit it, then it is legal. The fact that those words don't appear in any statute makes it legal. For it to be illegal to carry in your vehicle, the state would need to pass a law explicitly stating this.

You are correct. And you missed the point. It's correct to say it is legal because the law doesn't say it's illegal. It is incorrect to say it is legal because your car is an extension of your house and it's legal in the house so it's legal in the car. A person may have the same or similar rights in their car as they do in their home but they do not have rights in their car because they have rights in their home. The phrase "your car is an extension of your home" suggests that rights relative to a car are based on the rights relative to a home.

 

[thperez1972]

There are 3 issues here.
1. She was put in jail.
2. She got a high bail.
3. It took 4 weeks to decide to not prosecute.

We can discuss whether or not she should have ever been arrested. But that's not what actually kept her there. The judge set a pretty large bail. And if the case was so cut and dry to the point where the sheriff should lose his job over the arrest, why did the DA take 4 weeks to decide to not prosecute?

As for the sheriff's quote "We did what we had to do to protect everyone,” it's possible he was referring to the entire incident rather than the arrest for the weapon in the car. The original article is linked to below. According to the article, this person was with 2 other people and at least one of the other two brought a weapon into the school.

So let's look at the totality of circumstances. The sheriff gets a call about someone bringing a gun into a school. They respond. Two people run in separate directions. One runs to a car with an ak47 on the floorboard. The other tried to ditch a handgun under her car. A third weapon was found in her car. Video surveillance put the three together.

According to the St John Sheriff website, she was booked with a felony. The unrelated criminal damage charge was a misdemeanor. Given the entire story, does everyone still feel the same about the arrest and the length of the time in jail and the sheriff's responsibility in all of this?

3 arrested after bringing guns to pre-K graduation: St. John Sheriff's Office

Two adults and a 16-year-old boy were arrested Friday after authorities say they were found with guns at a pre-K graduation ceremony at Garyville-Mt. Airy Math and Science Magnet School,

www.nola.com

 

[SVT Bansheeman]

All vehicles were searched at this particular graduation?

"Extension of a person's home"? As often as people like to say those words, nowhere in the Louisiana revised statutes do those words appear.

I did not know that. Very interesting!

 

[Bam Bam]

The sheriff gets a call about someone bringing a gun into a school. They respond. Two people run in separate directions. One runs to a car with an ak47 on the floorboard. The other tried to ditch a handgun under her car. A third weapon was found in her car. Video surveillance put the three together.

According to the St John Sheriff website, she was booked with a felony. The unrelated criminal damage charge was a misdemeanor. Given the entire story, does everyone still feel the same about the arrest and the length of the time in jail and the sheriff's responsibility in all of this?

3 arrested after bringing guns to pre-K graduation: St. John Sheriff's Office

Two adults and a 16-year-old boy were arrested Friday after authorities say they were found with guns at a pre-K graduation ceremony at Garyville-Mt. Airy Math and Science Magnet School,

www.nola.com

Thats a whole other ball game right there! "Authorities learned of the weapons after receiving a tip that three people had entered the school building with firearms." This just goes to show if you don't know the WHOLE story, you don't know anything!

 

[thperez1972]

All vehicles were searched at this particular graduation?

"A search of the vehicle they were headed to turned up an AK-47 rifle with a loaded magazine on the passenger floorboard."

The AK was on the passenger floorboard. It could have been in plain view. That's technically a search but it's also an exception to the 4th amendment. The article only says a third weapon was found in the other car. If by all you mean everyone attending the event, I feel pretty confident in saying no. I would suspect only the cars part of the criminal investigation would be subject to any possible search.

 

[thperez1972]

Thats a whole other ball game right there! "Authorities learned of the weapons after receiving a tip that three people had entered the school building with firearms." This just goes to show if you don't know the WHOLE story, you don't know anything!

Yeah, this article devoted one sentence to the reason the police were at the location. And the article just got their facts wrong on the bail. If you do a google search for "st john inmate roster" you can get to their site that shows their inmates. She's been released but you can search who was there on a particular day within the past 30 days. Her booking info is public record so I am comfortable posting an image of it below. The writer should have easily seen that the $250,000 bail was for a felony charge and not the misdemeanor charge. Was the vehicle search illegal as her family claimed? I don't know. I wasn't there and neither article lists the probable cause for the search. So maybe it was and maybe it wasn't. But I do know the article seems incomplete and inaccurate.

 

[Manimal]

There are 3 issues here.
1. She was put in jail.
2. She got a high bail.
3. It took 4 weeks to decide to not prosecute.

We can discuss whether or not she should have ever been arrested. But that's not what actually kept her there. The judge set a pretty large bail. And if the case was so cut and dry to the point where the sheriff should lose his job over the arrest, why did the DA take 4 weeks to decide to not prosecute?

As for the sheriff's quote "We did what we had to do to protect everyone,” it's possible he was referring to the entire incident rather than the arrest for the weapon in the car. The original article is linked to below. According to the article, this person was with 2 other people and at least one of the other two brought a weapon into the school.

So let's look at the totality of circumstances. The sheriff gets a call about someone bringing a gun into a school. They respond. Two people run in separate directions. One runs to a car with an ak47 on the floorboard. The other tried to ditch a handgun under her car. A third weapon was found in her car. Video surveillance put the three together.

According to the St John Sheriff website, she was booked with a felony. The unrelated criminal damage charge was a misdemeanor. Given the entire story, does everyone still feel the same about the arrest and the length of the time in jail and the sheriff's responsibility in all of this?

3 arrested after bringing guns to pre-K graduation: St. John Sheriff's Office

Two adults and a 16-year-old boy were arrested Friday after authorities say they were found with guns at a pre-K graduation ceremony at Garyville-Mt. Airy Math and Science Magnet School,

www.nola.com

Three issues, agreed they are all issues. She may have talked with them but unless the gun was stolen or she was a felon it seems like she did not actually break the law there. Unless the Gov uses leverage to get her to drop the issue, there is a good chance that the public will be paying with lots of tax dollars.

The other 2 seem like they got proper charges for the things they did.

 

[thperez1972]

Three issues, agreed they are all issues. She may have talked with them but unless the gun was stolen or she was a felon it seems like she did not actually break the law there. Unless the Gov uses leverage to get her to drop the issue, there is a good chance that the public will be paying with lots of tax dollars.

The other 2 seem like they got proper charges for the things they did.

The article about the arrest links her to the other two. All three were seen together on video surveillance and the teen threw the weapon he was carrying under her car to hide it. Those two things by themselves are not enough to arrest her. But neither article mentions there was or was not more of a connection between her and the others.

The law that makes the school a gun free zone also lists reasons why this law would not apply. One reason is "any constitutionally protected activity which cannot be regulated by the state, such as a firearm contained entirely within a motor vehicle." The law doesn't say that the law never applies to a gun in a car. It limits the exception to any constitutionally protected activity.

Given only the information presented in the articles, I would agree they may not have had enough to arrest her. But given the incomplete and inaccurate reporting by nola dot com, the lack of a booking sheet with the probable cause information, and the fact I was not there, all I can do is speculate.

 

[Bam Bam]

Just a FYI, My wife who works for the Livingston Parish School board as a bus driver has been told "Do NOT have a gun in your car on school grounds" being they park their car there during the day while driving the buses. I think this is BS myself, but she complies with this nonsense.

 

[thperez1972]

Just a FYI, My wife who works for the Livingston Parish School board as a bus driver has been told "Do NOT have a gun in your car on school grounds" being they park their car there during the day while driving the buses. I think this is BS myself, but she complies with this nonsense.

She needs to explain to them that her car is an extension of her house.

Or tell them that their directive is not supported by Louisiana law, specifically LA R.S. 14:95.2 C (5).

§95.2. Carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon by a student or nonstudent on school property, at school-sponsored functions, or in a firearm-free zone
A. Carrying a firearm, or dangerous weapon as defined in R.S. 14:2, by a student or nonstudent on school property, at a school sponsored function, or in a firearm-free zone is unlawful and shall be defined as possession of any firearm or dangerous weapon, on one's person, at any time while on a school campus, on school transportation, or at any school sponsored function in a specific designated area including but not limited to athletic competitions, dances, parties, or any extracurricular activities, or within one thousand feet of any school campus.
B. For purposes of this Section, the following words have the following meanings:
(1) "Campus" means all facilities and property within the boundary of the school property.
(2) "Nonstudent" means any person not registered and enrolled in that school or a suspended student who does not have permission to be on the school campus.
(3) "School" means any elementary, secondary, high school, vocational-technical school, college, or university in this state.
(4) "School bus" means any motor bus being used to transport children to and from school or in connection with school activities.
C. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to:
(1) A federal law enforcement officer or a Louisiana-commissioned state or local Post Certified law enforcement officer who is authorized to carry a firearm.
(2) A school official or employee acting during the normal course of his employment or a student acting under the direction of such school official or employee.
(3) Any person having the written permission of the principal or as provided in R.S. 17:3361.1.
(4) The possession of a firearm occurring within one thousand feet of school property and entirely on private property, or entirely within a private residence.
(5) Any constitutionally protected activity which cannot be regulated by the state, such as a firearm contained entirely within a motor vehicle.
(6) Any student carrying a firearm to or from a class, in which he is duly enrolled, that requires the use of the firearm in the class.
(7) A student enrolled or participating in an activity requiring the use of a firearm including but not limited to any ROTC function under the authorization of a university.
(8) A student who possesses a firearm in his dormitory room or while going to or from his vehicle or any other person with permission of the administration.
(9) Any person who has a valid concealed handgun permit issued pursuant to R.S. 40:1379.1 or 1379.3 and who carries a concealed handgun within one thousand feet of any school campus.
D.(1) Whoever commits the crime of carrying a firearm, or a dangerous weapon as defined in R.S. 14:2, by a student or nonstudent on school property, at a school-sponsored function, or in a firearm-free zone shall be imprisoned at hard labor for not more than five years.

 

[Fordfella]

Just a FYI, My wife who works for the Livingston Parish School board as a bus driver has been told "Do NOT have a gun in your car on school grounds" being they park their car there during the day while driving the buses. I think this is BS myself, but she complies with this nonsense.

It's my understanding that it's permitted in your car so long as the school isn't being used as a polling place.

Louisiana’s New “Guns At Work” Law Presents Legal Quagmire For Employers - Cook, Yancey, King & Galloway

With hunting season right around the corner, Louisiana employers have new incentive to revisit their workplace conduct policies. In July, Louisiana joined a handful of states that have enacted laws allowing employees to keep guns in their cars while at work, even if parked on the employer’s...

www.cookyancey.com

When my co-workers told me I couldn't even have shotgun shells in my truck, I looked it up and they have to provide you a designated parking area if they object to you parking in the common areas. That was several years ago.

 

[Bam Bam]

L/P School Board doesn't give a **** about the law. They don't want any guns on campus so they act like you are breaking the law if you keep one in your vehicle. So she keeps a taser in her car instead.

 

[AdvancedLaser]

Take a second to look at Louisiana Revised Statue 14:95.6
Read section B(5)