Common Desk Appearance Tickets from JFK Airport include 1) shoplifting offenses (Petit Larceny – PL 155.25, a Class A misdemeanor) at the JFK retail shops or duty-free stores, 2) misdemeanor possession of controlled substances (PL 220.03), 3) misdemeanor possession of a weapon, such as a knife or collapsable baton or brass knuckles (PL 265.01), 4) theft of services, such as failing to pay a bar or restaurant tab (PL 165.15), and 5) assault (PL 120.00, a Class A misdemeanor). However, there are many other possible offenses at JFK Airport that could result in Desk Appearance Tickets.

A Desk Appearance Ticket is the same thing as a criminal arrest and a conviction for a misdemeanor can give you a permanent and public criminal record. It can also potentially result in jail time, probation, fines, loss of employment, loss of immigration status, and loss of licensure, depending on the circumstances. These DATs must be taken seriously, as should any criminal arrest. Matthew Galluzzo has successfully helped over 100 clients earn dismissals in cases involving Desk Appearance Tickets, and has specifically helped over a dozen clients with charges stemming from JFK Airport.

Generally, a person who receives a Desk Appearance Ticket from JFK Airport must appear in Queens Criminal Court (located at 125-01 Queens Boulevard) as instructed by the ticket. Sometimes these court dates occur on weekends. Of course, many of the people arrested in JFK are travelers from out of town or even out of the country. In certain types of cases, Matthew Galluzzo has successfully appeared of behalf of many out-of-town and foreign clients and resolved these cases favorably without the clients having to appear personally. If you are a foreign or out-of-town client with a JFK Desk Appearance Ticket, you should strongly consider hiring Matthew Galluzzo to appear on your behalf, so that you do not have to make a special trip back to New York City just to appear in court to resolve a misdemeanor offense.

A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree when:

(1) He or she possesses any firearm, electronic dart gun, electronic stun gun, gravity knife, switchblade knife, pilum ballistic knife, metal knuckle knife, cane sword, billy, blackjack, bludgeon, plastic knuckles, metal knuckles, chuka stick, sand bag, sandclub, wrist-brace type slingshot or slungshot, shirken or “Kung Fu star”; or

(2) He or she possesses any dagger, dangerous knife, dirk, machete, razor, stiletto, imitation pistol, or any other dangerous or deadly instrument or weapon with intent to use the same unlawfully against another;

Criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree is a class A misdemeanor. (Note: there are other subsections of this charge that are far less common than these two subsections). The maximum penalty is one year in jail, and a conviction for these charge can have negative immigration consequences for non-citizens residing in the United States.

Thankfully, these cases can often be successfully defended by a savvy lawyer. Sometimes, an experienced criminal defense attorney can litigate the legality or constitutionality of the police search that yielded the weapon in the first place, potentially resulting in a dismissal of all charges. We have also once successfully obtained an acquittal for a client by persuading a jury with a technical argument that the knife seized from his client was not in fact a gravity knife (as alleged by the prosecutor). Most often, though, clients seek to negotiate reasonable dispositions for these cases that do not result in permanent criminal records or immigration consequences. The attorneys at The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo have successfully negotiated favorable results or dismissals dozens of times by demonstrating to prosecutors the good characters or backgrounds of their clients. If you or a loved one have been charged with possessing a weapon, you should contact them immediately.

As former prosecutors who specialize in criminal defense, our attorneys at The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo have a great deal of experience assisting people who find themselves in the unfortunate position of being charged with weapons possession, in particular what are commonly referred to as ‘gravity knives.’ Indeed, many of our clients lawfully purchase these knives from such on-line marketplaces as Amazon.com or in popular brick-and-mortar stores like K-Mart. Completely unaware that the possession of such knives is illegal in New York, these clients openly carry the knives on their belts, or clipped to their pockets, only to find themselves in handcuffs and going to criminal court charged with the Class “A” misdemeanor of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Fourth Degree (which is punishable by up to 1 year in jail).

So what exactly is a gravity knife? A “Gravity knife” is defined under New York Penal Law 265.01(5) as “any knife which has a blade which is released from the handle or sheath thereof by the force of gravity or the application or centrifugal force which, when released, is locked in place by means of a button, spring, lever or other device.” In practical terms, any knife which a police officer can open with the flick of a wrist and which locks into place falls under this definition. Not surprisingly, police officers are particularly adept at opening and locking the knives into place.

Although the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the gravity knife ban is not unconstitutionally vague for the moment, they have not ruled out that a future challenge to the ban on different grounds might be successful. Nevertheless, for the moment, it is still illegal to carry a gravity in New York State. If you find yourself in a position where you have been arrested and charged with possessing a gravity knife, you need to contact an experienced criminal defense attorney immediately.

Many (if not most) of our first-arrest clients accused of possessing gravity knifes are issued “Desk Appearance Tickets” by the police department, a fact which can be deceiving. A person who receives a ticket is commanded to appear in Court on a future date, and failure to do so – as we ALWAYS admonish our readers – can and WILL result in a warrant being issued for your arrest.

Additionally, if you intend to simply “show up” in Court and plead guilty to the charge, you will incur a permanent criminal record. This is why it is imperative to consult with an attorney. To be sure, some of the local District Attorney’s Offices take weapons cases – gravity knife cases in particular – very seriously, and will not make non-criminal offers at your first Court appearance, if at all. Thus, it is absolutely necessary to enlist the help of an experienced attorney who can convince the prosecutor in your case to deviate from the weapons charge and preserve your record and future. Our team of former prosecutors have a proven track record and a long list of excellent results in such cases.

If you or a loved one are charged with possessing a gravity knife, contact our firm immediately. Our lawyers are on call ready to help.

There is an age-old principle of law which says that ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it (ignorantia juris non exusat); if it were, one could claim a defense to every crime on the grounds that he/she was unaware such conduct was illegal. While the general policy implications of the doctrine are obvious, there is one particular area of the law where this doctrine seems to have an extremely harsh impact on individuals and their families, and that is in cases where people with out-of-state permits to possess firearms pass through either one of New York City’s two major airports with properly-secured guns, completely unaware that they are committing what is classified as a “violent felony” here. What’s worse is that their conduct is perfectly legal in their home states and they have no idea that New York does not recognize their out of state gun permits. The result is that travelers literally hand over their weapons to the authorities thinking that what they are doing is perfectly legal and proper, only to find out that the are being arrested and charged with a serious crime.

Many people enter New York City with guns which are legal to possess in their home states. In fact, many of these people have properly obtained permits to possess their guns back home and are simply unaware that those permits do not bestow the right to possess those guns here in New York City. All too often, unsuspecting travelers will walk into either La Guardia or JFK International airport with their firearms under the mistaken belief that the permit or license they properly obtained in their home state is applicable here. The traveler has no idea that he or she is violating New York law by possessing the firearm until he/she is arrested after properly securing the firearm in the appropriate travel case and declaring it at the airport. In other situations, the passenger secures and checks the gun in their home state where they are duly licensed, in compliance with Federal Law and airline regulations, and no one in the departing state stops them from travelling to New York City! It isn’t until that person arrives in New York and finds themselves in handcuffs and shipped off to central booking then criminal court, where it can take 24 hours in custody before they get to see a Judge and hopefully the light of day if they are released. The result is both shocking and terrifying to the person who never saw any of this coming…

In a vast majority of these cases, not only has the person secured the firearm in the proper travelling case, but they have unloaded the firearm and secured the ammunition apart from the firearm itself and declared or checked that too. Not only is the person unaware that their out of state permit has no effect in New York, they have no idea that in the eyes of New York law they are carrying a LOADED firearm.

New York Penal Law 265.00(3) defines a “firearm,” in pertinent part, as any pistol or revolver. PL 265.00(15) defines a “loaded firearm” as follows – “any firearm loaded with ammunition or any firearm which is possessed by one who, at the same time, possesses a quantity of ammunition which may be used to discharge such firearm.”

The italicized portion of subdivision 15 is what makes this common occurrence so serious – even if there isn’t a single bullet in the gun, the law will consider it “legally loaded” if the person in possession of the gun is also in possession of ammunition for it, regardless of the fact that it is removed from the gun itself. That the ammunition is in a completely separate container or section of the packaging than the gun is of no consequence – you are in possession of a “loaded” firearm.

As if this weren’t enough of a shock to the traveler who didn’t realize he/she was doing anything illegal, that person is then charged with violating Penal Law Section 265.03(3), Criminal Possession a Weapon in the Second Degree, which reads as follows:

“A person is guilty of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree when such person possesses a loaded firearm.”

This charge is a class C violent felony, which means that it carries a MINIMUM sentence of 3.5 years in prison, and as much as 15 years in prison. The case is then handed to a prosecutor in about as perfect a package as was the gun when it was literally handed over to the authorities by the traveler at the airport. Because there is often no factual question that the traveler possesses the gun, and ignorance of the law provides no legal defense, the prosecutor then has all of the leverage in world. The prosecutor can demand a 3.5 year prison sentence, or may come down to a lower felony and offer less time (The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has often demanded a 2 year prison sentence in even first arrest gun cases). The one silver lining, however, is that the prosecutor also has the discretion to come down to a non-jail sentence, and a defense attorney can advocate for leniency despite the fact that there is no legal defense to the charge.

The only option in a case such as this is to hire an experienced attorney who can hit the ground running to work with the prosecutor to try to negotiate a fair disposition that avoids the stiff penalties of imprisonment that are available given the nature of the charges.

If you or someone close to you has been arrested for bringing a firearm to one of New York’s airports, or for gun possession anywhere for that matter, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney at the Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo, where several of our attorneys are former prosecutors can help you.

“NYC Lawyers Explain Gun Possession and Related Charges”