Denver Illegal Firearm Possession Lawyer
Colorado gun laws sit at an unusual intersection of federal statute, state criminal code, and local ordinance, and the gaps between them catch people off guard. A Denver illegal firearm possession lawyer at DeChant Law works with clients who were stopped, searched, or arrested under circumstances that deserve close scrutiny. Reid has handled weapons charges as both a public defender and in private practice, and he understands that the facts behind a firearm possession case rarely look as simple as the charging document suggests.
What Colorado Law Actually Prohibits, and Where Federal Charges Enter the Picture
Colorado Revised Statutes section 18-12-108 makes it a felony for certain individuals to possess any firearm. The list of prohibited persons includes people with prior felony convictions, juvenile adjudications that would constitute a felony, and individuals subject to certain domestic violence protection orders. A conviction under this statute carries a presumptive range of one to three years in the Colorado Department of Corrections, and that range increases if the prior conviction involved violence.
The federal equivalent, 18 U.S.C. section 922(g), casts a wider net. Federal prosecutors in the District of Colorado have jurisdiction over any case involving a firearm that moved in interstate commerce, which practically means almost every manufactured firearm qualifies. Federal charges bring mandatory minimum sentencing considerations and no parole, which is a fundamentally different set of stakes than a state charge. Whether a case ends up in Denver District Court or the Alfred A. Arraj Courthouse on 19th Street matters enormously to outcome, and that decision is often made before a defense attorney is in the picture.
Beyond prohibited person charges, Colorado also criminalizes carrying a concealed handgun without a permit, possession of certain prohibited weapons including short-barreled rifles and silencers, and possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Each of these carries its own elements, its own defenses, and its own collateral consequences.
How These Cases Are Built, and Where They Can Be Challenged
Most illegal firearm possession cases in Denver begin with a stop. That stop might follow a 911 call, a traffic violation on I-25 or Federal Boulevard, or a response to a reported disturbance in neighborhoods like Montbello, Five Points, or Westwood. The constitutional question of whether the stop itself was lawful, and whether any subsequent search was justified, is often the center of gravity in a weapons case.
The Fourth Amendment places real limits on what law enforcement can do. If officers searched a vehicle without consent, without a warrant, and without a recognized exception to the warrant requirement, the firearm found during that search may be suppressible. A suppression motion, if granted, can end a case entirely because the prosecution literally loses its evidence. Reid has the trial experience to litigate these motions aggressively and to take a case to verdict when suppression fails.
Constructive possession is another area where these cases are genuinely contested. When a firearm is found in a shared space, such as a car with multiple occupants or a residence with multiple residents, the government must prove the defendant knew the firearm was there and had the ability and intent to exercise control over it. That is not always easy to prove. Fingerprint evidence is often absent. DNA analysis is frequently inconclusive. Proximity alone is not enough.
Prior conviction records also get challenged. If the underlying felony that forms the basis of a prohibited person charge was not validly entered, or if the defendant’s civil rights were restored under the law of the conviction state, those are grounds to contest the predicate. These are technical arguments that require careful research, but they matter.
The Consequences That Extend Past Sentencing
A felony weapons conviction in Colorado does not end when a sentence is served. The collateral consequences reach into almost every corner of a person’s life. Federal law permanently prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms, which means a Colorado conviction for unlawful possession creates a permanent, lifelong federal prohibition on top of whatever state penalties apply.
For non-citizens, a firearms conviction can be a deportable offense and a permanent bar to naturalization. Immigration consequences from weapons charges are among the most severe in criminal law and often take clients by complete surprise. Anyone who is not a U.S. citizen and is facing a weapons charge should have immigration consequences evaluated alongside the criminal defense strategy from the very beginning.
Employment consequences are substantial as well. Colorado’s record sealing statutes allow certain convictions to be sealed after completion of sentence and a waiting period, but not all weapons convictions qualify. Understanding what sealing is and is not available before resolving a case is part of making an informed decision about how to proceed.
For individuals with professional licenses in fields like healthcare, contracting, or education, a weapons conviction can trigger licensing board investigations separate from any criminal penalty. Reid’s background working with clients at the lowest points in their lives, learned during his time as a public defender in Denver, Broomfield, and Adams County, means he approaches these downstream consequences as part of the representation, not as an afterthought.
Questions People Actually Ask About Firearm Possession Charges in Denver
Can I be charged if the gun was legally purchased by someone else?
Yes. The question is not who purchased the firearm, but who possessed it at the time of the alleged offense. If you were found with a firearm registered to another person, you can still face possession charges. The only distinction would be if you had no knowledge the firearm was present, which goes to the element of knowing possession.
What happens if I have a concealed carry permit from another state?
Colorado has a permit recognition system, but it does not recognize all out-of-state permits. If your home state’s permit is not on Colorado’s recognized list, you may be in violation of state law even though you are legally permitted in your own state. This is a situation where intent is irrelevant to the charge, which makes counsel important.
Can the charge be reduced if this is a first offense?
Possibly, depending on the specific statute charged, the facts of the case, and the jurisdiction. Some weapons charges in Colorado carry presumptive sentences that require specific findings before a court can depart. First-offense treatment is not automatic and is often the result of negotiation, litigation, or both.
Does Denver have local ordinances that differ from state law?
Denver has enacted ordinances that address certain weapons in ways that differ from state preemption rules. The interplay between Denver municipal law and Colorado state law has been subject to ongoing litigation. Whether a particular ordinance applies in your situation depends heavily on where and how you were charged.
If the police found the gun illegally, does the case automatically get dismissed?
Not automatically, but an illegal search is a genuine defense. The remedy for a Fourth Amendment violation is suppression of the evidence. If the firearm is suppressed, the prosecution often has no case. But courts apply specific standards to suppression motions, and the outcome depends on the exact facts of the search. This is not a motion that wins itself.
What is the difference between a Class 5 and a Class 6 felony weapons charge in Colorado?
Colorado’s felony sentencing scheme ranges from Class 1 (most serious) to Class 6 (least serious). Unlawful possession of a weapon by a previous offender is a Class 6 felony in some circumstances and a Class 5 in others, depending on the nature of the prior conviction. The difference is meaningful in terms of presumptive sentencing ranges and parole eligibility.
Will this affect my ability to own firearms in the future?
A felony conviction under Colorado law or federal law results in a permanent prohibition on firearm possession under federal statute. Even after completing any sentence, that prohibition remains. This makes the outcome of the underlying case critical, not just for the immediate sentence but for future rights.
Facing a Weapons Charge in Denver? Here Is What Reid Brings to These Cases
At DeChant Law, illegal firearm possession defense draws on Reid’s years handling serious felonies as both a public defender and in private practice. Trial experience matters in weapons cases because many of them require motions practice and, when necessary, an actual jury trial. Reid trained at Trial Lawyers College and understands that the courtroom outcome depends on both the law and the ability to tell a client’s story with clarity and conviction. If you have been charged with unlawful firearm possession in Denver, Adams County, Jefferson County, Arapahoe County, or the surrounding region, the next step is a direct conversation about your specific facts with a Denver gun charge attorney who has taken these cases the distance.