Wednesday, August 17, 2005

A couple of weeks ago I told you about Hubert Plumber, a guy in Colorado who's gotten into three armed standoffs with cops and has never been convicted of any crime that would make it illegal for him to own a gun (and, perhaps, stage yet another standoff). Apparently he now may lose his right to own a gun -- though he's still not a felon:

The legal saga surrounding Telluride resident Reginald "Hubert" Plumber inched closer to its finish on Friday morning, as he accepted a plea bargain with Deputy District Attorney Kerry Yoder, and will face no jail time.

Initially, Plumber faced a litany of charges for his July 7 standoff with police, in which he reportedly assaulted his wife by shouting at her, and later shoving her. His wife also said he told her that, "he could get his gun and prepare for a standoff."

Plumber faced charges of misdemeanor child abuse, resisting arrest and harassment for the incident, in which he locked himself and his child in his home. He plead guilty to the harassment charge, and was sentenced to 48 hours of community service and domestic violence classes, in addition to eight days in jail, which County Judge David Westfall credited as the days he spent in jail following his July 7 arrest up to the day he posted bail on July 15.

Plumber will also serve a year's probation.

Although Plumber will face no more jail time, the fine print of federal gun laws states that anyone convicted of a crime of domestic violence cannot own a firearm, even if that crime is not a felony.

"I don't know that Hubert will ever own a gun again, but I can't say," said defense attorney Dick Unruh....


That story's from Matt Beaudin of the Telluride Daily Planet. (You can also read an earlier story he wrote on the case; it's at the end of the comments section of my original post.)

The deputy DA says that, "though Plumber did have a gun, he never picked it up, or pointed it at anyone." So maybe this is an appropriate outcome. But the guy is a creep, and he should have lost his right to pack a long time ago.

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