Dozens Arrested During Anti-Crime Sweep
In under two days, police officers arrested more than fifty individuals during Spring Break 2025 in Virginia Beach.
Most of the charges were related to firearms violations, police said, but they also responded to several shots-fired and shooting-related offenses.
Police Chief Paul Neudigate said, “We are a community that values safety, hospitality, and respect for the law. Our city is proud to welcome visitors from across the country and around the world. However, let me be clear: we will not allow individuals who come here to commit crimes — especially those involving firearms — to disrupt the peace and safety we have worked hard to build. We had enhanced staffing in place to maintain order, deter criminal actions, and seek out those engaged in illegal firearm acts – our officers acted swiftly and professionally this weekend to ensure that those who endangered our community were caught and held accountable.”
Weapons Possession
Other than perhaps DUI, illegal possession may be the most commonly charged criminal case in Northern Virginia. Many police officers believe these cases are easy to prove. Many defendants believe the same thing. But a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer has several strategic and tactical options in these matters.
Cart-before-the-horse illegal stops are a good example. Police officers must have reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing to pull over motorists or otherwise detain people. Reasonable suspicion is basically an evidence-based hunch. If Officer Sheila sees Raul glance nervously into his rearview mirror, she follows him until he commits a traffic violation, and she pulls him over. Sheila has profiled Raul. At best, she has a hunch supported by evidence.
Furthermore, when the case goes to court, prosecutors must establish all three elements of illegal possession, which are:
- Close Proximity: Any item in the passenger area of any vehicle satisfies the close proximity requirement, even if the defendant was in the front seat and the illegal item was in the trunk. Close proximity is harder to establish in other situations.
- Actual Knowledge: Accidental possession cases are rather common, especially accidental illegal weapons possession cases. If Raul’s wife leaves a licensed gun in his vehicle, and he doesn’t know it’s there, he’s not guilty of weapons possession, even if the state proves the other two elements.
- Exclusive Control: Most people don’t leave guns out in the open. Instead, they usually hide them in locked glove compartments. To establish exclusive control, the defendant usually must be in the front side passenger seat and have a key to the glovebox.
If a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer creates a reasonable doubt on one element of a weapons possession matter, the defendant is not guilty as a matter of law, mostly because of the presumption of innocence.
Disturbance Complaints
Possession cases are often weak because they have lots of moving parts. Shots fired and other such cases are often weak because the informant was unreliable.
Right off the bat, to a Leesburg criminal defense lawyer, there’s a big difference between accuracy and reliability. A broken clock is accurate twice a day, but a broken clock is clearly unreliable.
Many disturbance tipsters are basically tattletales. They call police because they want the defendant to get in trouble, not because they have safety concerns.
To further define tip reliability, most courts examine a number of factors, such as the tip’s specificity. “Shots fired in the 4300 block of Lincoln Avenue” is not very specific. Such a tip usually indicates the tipster didn’t see the incident and was never in danger. “Shots fired at 4325 Lincoln Avenue” is much more specific and indicates that the tipster has a safety concern.
Reach Out to a Detail-Oriented Loudoun County Lawyer
There’s a big difference between an arrest and a conviction in criminal law. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. Convenient payment plans are available.
Source:
13newsnow.com/article/news/crime/53-arrests-200-hundred-criminal-charges-made-in-48-hours-in-virginia-beach/291-1effc2ec-87ce-4d56-8a0c-c2dce4f72422
