In recent news Simeon D. Mokhiber was convicted for weapons charges but it wasn’t the weapon that was the problem. It was three magazines that are not NY SAFE Act legal.

Simeon D. Mokhiber, 41, was arrested on April 18, 2016 and given field sobriety tests for possible DUI.  He was allegedly speeding as well as being DUI. He also had not been drinking, and was ultimately acquitted of that charge. But inside his vehicle- in a locked gun box- were three pistol magazines capable of firing more than 10 rounds.

Police can search a vehicle incident to arrest, according to long standing Supreme Court rulings. But the locked box is problematic, and probably should have required a search warrant, given that Mr. Mokhiber did not give them permission to search it.

Mokhiber is an Army veteran. He was a Staff Sergeant for 9 years. He was involved with OIF and after the Army he became a US Contractor before becoming a NY armed guard. He has no prior criminal record.

The jury acquitted Mokhiber on the DWI charge, defense attorney James M. Ostrowski said. But the weapons charges each carry a potential seven-year prison sentence when Mokhiber returns before Judge Matthew J. Murphy III in about two months.

Having lived in NY, it was stupid of him to have these magazines. However police are exempt from the NY Safe Act with regards to magazine capacity. I do not agree with this, but it is a fact.

Hopefully Mokhiber meets a compassionate judge.