In what’s believed to be the first prosecution under a 2014 voter-approved background check law, a former Oak Harbor, Washington, resident has been charged with illegally transferring a .22-caliber pistol that was later used in a homicide.
That's how the state law defines a firearm."Firearm" means a weapon or device from which a projectile or projectiles may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder
Twenty-five-year-old Mark Mercado is charged with one count of unlawful transfer of a firearm. That’s a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. A warrant for his arrest has been issued, but the prosecutor’s office says his whereabouts are not known.
Here's some of the Washington State Jury Instructions:In charging documents, the Island County prosecutor alleges that on November 9, 2015, Mercado gave a Phoenix Arms HP-22 pistol to David Nunez. The following evening, investigators believe that same gun was used to murder Johnson in a dispute over an impounded car.
As far as I can tell, Washington has not released any jury instructions for the RCWs where I-594 is located.A temporarily disabled or malfunctioning gun may still meet this statutory definition of firearm. State v. Padilla, 95 Wn.App. 531, 533, 978 P.2d 1113 (1999) (statutory element of unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree); see also State v. Anderson, 94 Wn.App. 151, 158–63, 971 P.2d 585 (1999), reversed on other grounds 141 Wn.2d 357, 5 P.3d 1247 (2000). The Padilla court held that a “disassembled firearm that can be rendered operational with reasonable effort and within a reasonable time period is a firearm within the meaning of RCW 9.41.010(1).” State v. Padilla, 95 Wn.App. at 535. Under Padilla and Anderson, temporarily disabled guns may qualify as “firearms” under the statute, but “gun-like objects” and permanently disabled guns do not. State v. Padilla, 95 Wn.App. at 535; State v. Anderson, 94 Wn.App. at 162.
Here is a Washington court case about that definition of a firearm.
Oh, and...here's the evidence that they're using:
According to charging documents, Nunez contacted Mercado via text message looking for a “toolie,” a slang word for a gun. Mercado allegedly wrote back, “Not a problem” and asked “can you get here in less than 10 minutes.”
Detectives say they also recovered a partial text message from Nunez to Mercado sent the night of the murder that read in part, “I took your bullets and then put gloves on to …”
Derp...Later, Mercado gave a statement to detectives in which he said that he met with Nunez and provided him a .22 caliber-pistol. Since that interview, detectives have been unable to locate Mercado, who moved out of his apartment in Oak Harbor. The gun has also not been recovered. Detectives believe it was disposed of in the ocean after Johnson’s murder.
Of course, it's still kind of hard to prosecute someone for unlawfully selling a firearm, if you can't find the alleged firearm.
I wonder if the lawyer in this case could use Haynes for a defense, because it requires him to report an unlawful activity he is engaged in to the authorities.