What to Expect When You're Arrested (in San Antonio)
I'm a criminal defense attorney in San Antonio. When I was in my early 20s, I was arrested for DWI. I had no idea what to expect or what was going on with my case because my attorney didn't let me know what to expect. Now that I'm an attorney, I want to make sure that you don't have to go through the same experience that I did. This podcast will let you know what you can expect to happen at the different stages of your case. Even though it focuses on how cases in San Antonio are handled, it will be helpful even if you're charged somewhere else. If you've been arrested for DWI, assault, possession, or anything else, you probably have many questions about what will happen in your case. You'll probably have more questions while your case works through the system. This podcast will answer many of your questions.
What to Expect When You're Arrested (in San Antonio)
How To Legally Carry A Handgun In Your Car In Texas
If you have any questions about this or if you're being charged with a crime, feel free to call me at 210-405-6410 or click here to schedule a free consultation.
Click the link below to receive 4 Things You Should Do If You've Been Arrested:
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We have represented several clients who were arrested for unlawful carry of a weapon when they had no idea they were breaking the law. Many people, including police, judges, and prosecutors, get the law on unlawful carry incorrect. If you have a handgun in your car, you have to have it hidden (not in plain view) or in a holster. You also cannot be committing another crime, like DWI or possesion of any illegal drugs while you have a gun. Many people are pulled over for speeding and when the officer sees that there's a handgun in between their seat and the center console that is not in a holster, they end up getting arrested. We also see people who are arrested for DWI and also get charged with unlawful carry because there is a gun somewhere in the car.
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Sean Henricksen Law Firm
sean@seanhenricksen.com
210-405-6410
106 S. St. Mary's St., Ste 445
San Antonio, Texas 78205
www.seanhenricksen.com
Hi, and welcome back to another episode of What to Expect When You're Arrested. My name is Sean Hendrickson here from the Sean Hendrickson Law Firm, where we help good people like you avoid the devastating consequences of criminal charges. Today we're actually talking about unlawfully carrying a weapon, and specifically, we're going to talk about carrying a handgun in your car. Before we get to that, we do have a free download for you. It's five things you should be doing right now if you've been arrested. If you click down in the show notes, there's a link where you can click on that and we'll send that right out to you. We also have a link down in the show notes. If you're being charged with a crime here in San Antonio, you can schedule a free consultation with us where we will discuss your case with you, answer any questions that you have, and let you know what you can expect going forward. And there's a link down in the show notes where you can click on that, or you can always give us a call at 210-405-6410, and we'd be happy to answer any questions that you have or schedule that consultation with you. There are a lot of different ways that you could be violating the law on carrying guns and get charged with unlawfully carrying of a weapon. That could be being a convicted felon, you could have an old family violence charge that resulted in you not being able to own or possess a firearm anymore. But today we're going to be talking about carrying a handgun in your car and when you can do that and when you can, and specifically how you can do that and how you can't. To have a handgun in your car in Texas, you either have to have it hidden or you have to have it in a holster. To break that down a little bit more, what the code says is if a gun is in plain view, then it has to be in a holster if you're in your car. What I see a lot of people doing is having a handgun and having it between the driver's seat and the center console, and they end up getting pulled over, an officer sees it there, and when the officer sees that it's not in a holster, then the person who was originally getting pulled over for speeding or not having a front license plate or something ends up getting arrested with and being charged with unlawfully carrying of a gun. So if you are going to have your handgun in plain view, then it has to be in a holster. As long as it's on a holster, then you can have it anywhere even in plain view, including that position between the driver's seat and the center console. But if you do have it there, just make sure it's on a holster and you're good to go. If it's not in a holster, then it has to be out of plain view. So you can keep it in your glove compartment, that center console, as long as your center console is closed or your trunk or somewhere like that, where an officer is not going to be able to see that from outside of your car. So just a quickly recap if you are going to have your gun in plain view, make sure it's going to be in a holster. Otherwise, make sure that it's put away so that it's not in plain view. Or if you want to be doubly careful, just make sure it's in a holster in your car at all the times. And then regardless of whether it's in plain view or not, then it's in a holster and you're good to go. The other time that we see people charged with unlawful carrying of a weapon is if they get charged with another crime. It is illegal to have a gun in your car if you're in the commission of another crime. And the way that we see that getting charged a lot is if somebody gets arrested for a DWI, the officer checks their car and finds a gun, even if it's in the glove compartment or somewhere else where they would normally be able to have it. Just the fact that they were getting arrested for a DWI, them also having the gun in their car means that they're going to have that charge. And now instead of just facing the DWI charge, they've got two charges that they're going to have to face. That means the bond is going to be higher, hiring an attorney is going to cost you more money. And if they do end up on probation, it's usually going to be more conditions of probation and the longer length that they're on probation for if they do end up that way. And I do want to emphasize two things. One, unlawful carry when you're committing another crime, also, the gun doesn't have to be used in the commission of that crime. So if you're being charged for DWI or if they arrest you for possession of a drug or whatever, the gun doesn't have to be out or anything else. It could be in your glove compartment or even your trunk, and you could still get arrested for having a gun with you while you're committing another crime. The second thing is that having it not in plain view or having it in a holster, that relates to handguns in your vehicle. It does not relate to rifles or shotguns or other long guns. So it's important to keep that in mind as well. I hope that this information has been helpful. If you have any questions, like I said earlier, feel free to give us a call at 210 405 6410. Or if you're being charged with a crime here in San Antonio, first thing you should be doing is giving us a call or scheduling that consultation with us using the link below. That way we can help walk you through this case and get this case behind you. Have a great day.