I Was Convicted of Assault with a Deadly Wep

[Yesmynameisshaun]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Nevada

I have had a nightmare of injustice befall upon me, and was wondering if anyone has ANY idea on what I could do to help myself out of this mess that has plagued me for over a year and a half.

I will make this as short as possible, and as it does me no good to lie these are the facts.

1) I had my concealed weapons license in Nv for almost five years
2) I have no previous record.

the event

1) i went into a parking lot and was waiting for a space when someone swiped it from me.
2) I then went around to a second spot in front of the one taken, and the person then moved forward, effectively taking a second spot.
3)I exited my car, and asked him if he had a problem, and could he move into the first spot he took as to where I wouldn't have to back up my car (it was angled to move into the spot)
4) He stated "I didn't have a problem but i have a problem now.."

5) this started the incident, he got more and more aggressive, both him and his girlfriend. After about 4-5 mins he finally went from merely yelling to being moving as if to hit me, at which point i took out my gun and ordered him down.

6) An off duty cop admittedly saw 1/10 of the situation, ordered me down, and I was arrested. He stated i drew my gun and was in no danger, and had enough time to retreat.

7) A COMPLETELY independent witness states that the "victim" was moving violently towards me, moving as if to strike me.

8) The officer is lying to save himself civilly as well as potentially even criminally. He keeps stating i had time to run, and was in no danger, paints me as the aggressor.

9) At my trial by jury, the prosecution made that the case, and despite what the witness said, they drove it home to the jury that I was the aggressor, that I had time to retreat, and that I was in no danger.

10) i was found guilty. And in one moment I've gone from having my ccw and carrying legally, to doing what i felt was self defense, to now being charged as a felon.

11) My sentencing is coming up in almost 2 months, this all seems surreal to me. Can anyone out there help me? Is there anything that can be done?

I had a good attorney, those he seemed to drop the call in the closing arguments. It says the sentence is 1-6 years or a 5k fine and/or both.

[aardvarc]

3)I exited my car, and asked him if he had a problem, and could he move into the first spot he took as to where I wouldn't have to back up my car (it was angled to move into the spot)

Right or wrong, this is where the JURY is going believe the problem started. Instead of mumbling to yourself "you jerk" and going around to get to the spot, you CHOSE to confront this guy, knowing that if things got escalated, you had a little cold blue steel "helper" to trump the situation. Juries HATE that.

4) He stated "I didn't have a problem but i have a problem now.."

Yet, you chose to stand there and engage anyway.

5) this started the incident, he got more and more aggressive, both him and his girlfriend. After about 4-5 mins he finally went from merely yelling to being moving as if to hit me, at which point i took out my gun and ordered him down.

The incident STARTED back at #3 above. You stood there 4-5 mins where you COULD have returned to your vehicle - particularly when you were aware that the situation was escalating. Know what this looks like to the jury? It looks like you were HOPING the situation would escalate to a level where you could whip it out and put him in his place. Whether that was your true intention or not is irrelevent - that's how the prosecution painted it, and that's how juries tend to see such cases with very little help.

6) An off duty cop admittedly saw 1/10 of the situation, ordered me down, and I was arrested. He stated i drew my gun and was in no danger, and had enough time to retreat.

Anytime you're not in an OBVIOUS LIFE THREATENING threatening situation, permit or not, there's often going to be an arrest.

7) A COMPLETELY independent witness states that the "victim" was moving violently towards me, moving as if to strike me.

Which I'm sure the prosecution laid out to the jury as not being enough to justify the assault with a firearm. Again, remember that juries aren't lawyers, law students, civil rights experts, or highly versed in the many legalites of CCW - they get a slam dunk quick education by a prosecutor and a defense attorney and are asked to make a judgement. Although some individual could likely make an excellent legal arguement that you were within the law the moment you pulled the gun, the jury is going back to #3 above - that you started the conflict - and that's going to paint EVERYTHING else in a different color - even other actions that MAY have been supported by statute.

8) The officer is lying to save himself civilly as well as potentially even criminally. He keeps stating i had time to run, and was in no danger, paints me as the aggressor.

Like I said, pretty much anyway you slice this, you were going to be arrested.

9) At my trial by jury, the prosecution made that the case, and despite what the witness said, they drove it home to the jury that I was the aggressor, that I had time to retreat, and that I was in no danger.

The jury likely thought that on their own - the prosecution just made you MORE of a bad guy than they thought you were - and even the best defense attorneys have a hard time getting people to not believe that "whoever started it gets it". The moment you got out of the car to confront him, it put a spin on this case that wasn't likely to end well for you.

10) i was found guilty. And in one moment I've gone from having my ccw and carrying legally, to doing what i felt was self defense, to now being charged as a felon.

I carry here in Florida. Our CCW is relatively simple, and we call the governing statutes, collectively, the "make my day" laws. We have very little duty to retreat (unlike many states) and still, having been in situations more intense than you describe (on multiple occasions), I've never pulled my weapon on anyone. Not because I wouldn't have been justified within the statute, but because having seen SO many similar cases, I am well aware that juries don't like people who pull guns on other people when they COULD have made other choices - even if the law says they're not REQUIRED to. The moral of the story being - if there is ANY possible way OUT of a situation or avoiding a situation where the display or use of a firearm becomes the solution - and you DON'T take it - hope for the best, but plan for the worse. You're not really subject to the law as YOU understand it - you're subject to the law as the JURY understands it - and as Forrest Gump might say "juries are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get".

11) My sentencing is coming up in almost 2 months, this all seems surreal to me. Can anyone out there help me? Is there anything that can be done?I had a good attorney, those he seemed to drop the call in the closing arguments. It says the sentence is 1-6 years or a 5k fine and/or both.

You can ask the court for a lenient sentence, and ask your attorney (and preferably a second and third attorney) if there are grounds for appeal on the case.