Arrest Involving a Gun in the Glovebox of a Car

I was arrested this weekend for having a gun in my glove box of my car that someone else was driving and I was just a passenger in at the time. The weapon was not loaded and they didn't find it until they towed my car away because the driver was arrested for a DUI. My question is does anyone know a way to get out of the arrest? They arrested me the next day and said that I was arrested for possession of a firearm while intoxicated, however, I was never given a breathe analyzer or anything like that...


Thank you so much for any help!!!!

Also forgot to mention that I live in the state of Missouri

You were in the passenger seat. There was an unsecured firearm in the glove box. It was within your reach, therefore you were in possession (it's called "constructive possession"). There's no way around this - you NEED an attorney.

Concur with Catherine. Get thee to an attorney's office as fast as your feet will carry you. This is not a DIY project.

You seem to say you were arrested the next day for being drunk in possession. This would require probable cause that you were drunk at the time of the stop. How can they prove that?


Was the firearm carried/transported legally outside of possession while intoxicated??

In other words, if you were not intoxicated, would they have a seperate charge for carrying it?

It may have been transported legally, except while drunk, no. Otherwise being a passenger has no bearing, it was YOUR car, period.

See statue 571.030 subdivision 3. If no ammo was in the car at all you should be OK. Does not appear as if the glove box being a factor.

Section below........

*************************************************

3. Subdivisions (1), (5), (8), and (10) of subsection 1 of this section do not apply when the actor is transporting such weapons in a nonfunctioning state or in an unloaded state when ammunition is not readily accessible or when such weapons are not readily accessible. Subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section does not apply to any person twenty-one years of age or older transporting a concealable firearm in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, so long as such concealable firearm is otherwise lawfully possessed, nor when the actor is also in possession of an exposed firearm or projectile weapon for the lawful pursuit of game, or is in his or her dwelling unit or upon premises over which the actor has possession, authority or control, or is traveling in a continuous journey peaceably through this state. Subdivision (10) of subsection 1 of this section does not apply if the firearm is otherwise lawfully possessed by a person while traversing school premises for the purposes of transporting a student to or from school, or possessed by an adult for the purposes of facilitation of a school-sanctioned firearm-related event.
************************************************** ****

Chk with attny to be sure .. I aint one