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Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:32 am
by seamusTX
Texas City, Jan. 21 -- A man buying merchandise at a check-cashing business in Texas City accidentally failed to conceal his handgun. Police were called. The man had a CHL but was charged with public intoxication "because [police] suspect he was high on prescripton medication."
http://news.galvestondailynews.com/stor ... 626e051b58
I can feel for the guy. I'm lying low right now because I have a bad cold (the first in several years) and find myself doing dopey things.
I can also see where people who work in a check-cashing store might have a hightened state of alertness. This area, 20th & Texas Avenue, is not exactly a high-rent district.
- JIm
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:07 am
by zbordas
Feel sorry for the guy as he did not commit anything and was not a threat to anybody. Is there anything we can do to help this guy?
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:21 am
by seamusTX
His name wasn't in the paper, so not at the moment. We have quite a few members in Texas City, Maybe one of them will hear the scuttlebutt.
- Jim
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:40 am
by xrod69
thats not right.

Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 11:47 am
by txinvestigator
xrod69 wrote:thats not right.

How do you know? All we know is what information is in the cruddy little article.
Intoxication DOES include any drug or controlled substance.
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:05 pm
by seamusTX
txinvestigator wrote:Intoxication DOES include any drug or controlled substance.
Can you explain from the LEO point of view what kind of evidence collection would follow a PI arrest?
Would they draw blood or take a urine sample, or just rely on officers' testimony.
- Jim
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 12:12 pm
by txinvestigator
seamusTX wrote:txinvestigator wrote:Intoxication DOES include any drug or controlled substance.
Can you explain from the LEO point of view what kind of evidence collection would follow a PI arrest?
Would they draw blood or take a urine sample, or just rely on officers' testimony.
- Jim
They would have to get a court order to obtain blood/urine unless the suspect wavied his rights and offered a sample. I just don't see that happening on such an arrest. The arrest was probably based on statements made by the suspect as well as the officers's observations. But that is just speculation on my part.
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:21 pm
by gregthehand
He could probably get a lawyer and fight the PI really hard and probably win. Sounds like something that if the DA is a decent guy he will just let die.
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:26 pm
by seamusTX
gregthehand wrote:Sounds like something that if the DA is a decent guy he will just let die.
We need more facts and I don't want to speculate. I'll be watching this case closely, since I live in the same county.
The DA, Kirk Sistrunk, is not notably anti-RKBA. A few weeks ago they did not charge a guy who shot himself in a public place and then lied about what happened.
- Jim
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:30 pm
by shaggydog
seamusTX wrote:a guy who shot himself in a public place
Jim - Were they able to stitch up his public place?

Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:33 pm
by seamusTX
shaggydog wrote:Jim - Were they able to stitch up his public place?

I guess. He shot himself in the leg and was in the hospital a short time. No Darwin Award. Try again.
- JIm
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:42 pm
by Keith B
seamusTX wrote:.... The man had a CHL but was charged with public intoxication "because [police] suspect he was high on prescripton medication.".....
- JIm
The question is was it HIS prescription medication he was high on? I refrained from carrying when I went to breakfast Saturday morning as I was taking Vicodin post my surgery. While I feel perfectly normal while taking them, I felt it was better to not have to worry about my perceived state of medicinal well being if anything were to happen.
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:49 pm
by shaggydog
Keith B wrote:The question is was it HIS prescription medication he was high on?
I don't see where ownership is relavent. If he were drunk would it matter whether he drank from a bottle he bought, or from a bottle belonging to someone else? Either way, he is drunk and therefore PI.
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 3:51 pm
by seamusTX
Keith B wrote:seamusTX wrote:The question is was it HIS prescription medication he was high on?
All I know is what's in that article. I will follow up with any more information I get.
I don't want to speculate because the guy might be a member of this forum or a friend of a member.
- Jim
Re: Failure to conceal, public intoxication
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:09 pm
by Keith B
shaggydog wrote:Keith B wrote:The question is was it HIS prescription medication he was high on?
I don't see where ownership is relavent. If he were drunk would it matter whether he drank from a bottle he bought, or from a bottle belonging to someone else? Either way, he is drunk and therefore PI.
It does. If he was on medication that was prescribed to him, and he happened to be having an adverse reaction, then it is different than if he was taking someone elses prescription meds for kicks. Yes, either way he would be PI, but there IS a difference.
I have had meds prescribed that did strange things to me, and I refused to take any additional becuase of it. There are folks that would have been glad to have taken them off of my hands to get the same reaction for entertainment purposes.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Hopefully it was all an unfortunate incident and he will be absolved of any wrong doing.