Felony posession of firearms

Question
I am a US citizen w a registered handgun, and permit to carry. I purchased the firearm 5 years ago at camp Pendleton while I was still in the Marines. Recently I have been on countrywide road trip, and I attempted to cross into Mi from Canada, and was arrested for possession of the firearm, and held in jail in Detroit. It is a felony charge. I did not have my registration w me, and the officers said they could not locate any record of it being registered. Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. RJR

Answer
RJR,

I have to make one initial qualifying statement.  Please understand that I am NOT an attorney and cannot give you legal advice.  If you need legal advice you should seek out a criminal attorney licensed to practice in Michigan.

You appear to have several major issues going on.  Since you didn't say specifically what you were being charged with, let's take the various possibilities one at a time.  

First, when you bought the gun in California, you did have to fill out a BATF 4473 (Record of Firearms Transfer), but that is not 'registration'.  California does not require that you register a firearm.  You can file a 'Firearms Ownership Record' with the CA DOJ, but again that is not 'registration'.  So, I wonder if the firearm you purchase is, in fact, "registered".  Personally, I suspect not.

If you had a valid carry permit from your home state of residence, you should not have had any issues simply transporting your firearm in Michigan had you presented your valid out-of-state permit.  If you had your permit with you, my guess is that you got into trouble with Customs for attempting to bring a firearm into the US.  

In the current political climate, moving firearms across international borders is a pretty big deal.  You should have filed a bunch of paperwork as you left the country to prove that you were the owner of the firearm and Canada would have also wanted you to file a bunch of paperwork to bring it in.  

Since your handgun is considered to be a 'restricted firearm' by Canada, there is a very high likelihood they would not have allowed you to bring it in, even if you did fill out the CAFC 909 form (Non-Resident Firearms Declaration).  You must file this form in person with Canadian Customs at the point of entry.

Since you didn't specifically say what you were charged with, I'm guessing it is under USC 18, Section 922 that relates to unlawful importation of a firearm into the US.  

If you didn't have your permit with you, I'm not sure what the state of Michigan would charge you with unless it is failure to have a license to possess a handgun.  In Michigan you are required to have a Michigan license to carry concealed on your person or within your vehicle.  As I understand it, if you are a non-resident with a valid concealed weapons permit from your home state, you can carry legally under Michigan law, subject to the same restrictions as a Michigan resident.

Overall, you are in a pretty bad spot.  You really need to get an attorney to represent you.  Any federal violation has pretty serious consequences, including 5 years in a federal prison.

The state situation is not much better.  Michigan law states in Section 750.227(2), (3) that a person who carries a concealed handgun without a license is committing a felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison or a fine of up to $2500.  

Conviction on a felony charge has other serious implications including the loss of your right to vote, hold a passport, own firearms along with other serious consequences.  

Can you get someone to send you your permit if you don't have it with you?  Can you get the issuing state to send a letter stating that you have a valid concealed carry permit?  That might help you if the charges are under Michigan law.  If the charges are Federal, the permit and registration (if you even have one) make little difference.

If you have friends or family that can help out by hiring a good criminal attorney, this is probably the time to ask.  If you cannot afford an  attorney, work with the Public Defender assigned to you to get this charge down to something more reasonable in light of the fact that this was an 'innocent mistake' as opposed to an overt attempt to circumvent the law.

It saddens me to see you in this spot...best of luck to you.

Best regards,

Doug