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Missing information allows gun
sales to take place in AlabamaMOBILE, Ala. (AP) —
Demario Terrell Davis’
2004 arrest on a misdemeanor
marijuana charge
popped up on a federally
required background check
when he sought to buy a
military-style rifle the following
winter.
Criminal history
records did not reveal the
outcome of that arrest,
however. Government
checkers had three business
days to find the
answer, according to the
law, or the sale could go
through regardless.
The government lost
that race against the clock,
and Davis had himself a
new .223-caliber Stag 15.
He later went to prison for
having the weapon.
Such situations are all
too common in Alabama: A
state-maintained computer
database has 2.7 million
arrest records that do not
reflect the outcome of the
case.
‘‘We have dispositions
without arrests,’’ said
Maury Mitchell, the director
of the Alabama
Criminal Justice
Information Center. ‘‘We
have arrests without dispositions.’’
In Davis’ case, the problem
might have proved
particularly frightening.
The day after Davis
acquired the rifle, officials
discovered that he was
prohibited from possessing
a firearm. In fact, police at
the time said Davis, his
brother and another man
called themselves the
‘‘Maysville Soldiers’’ and
were linked to gun battles
in their south-central
Mobile neighborhood.
Agents from the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives
soon arrested Davis for
having the rifle, and he
eventually pleaded guilty
and served a year in
prison.
There are several reasons
for the holes in the
information about criminal
records, according to
Mitchell and others.
While many courts send
the data to the state electronically,
for instance,
Mitchell said a substantial
portion still arrives on a
sheet of paper and must be
entered into the system by
hand.
Then, there is the problem
of matching the original
arrest to the charges
brought in court; they’re
often not the same.
Mitchell said a police officer
might initially file a
burglary charge, while the
district attorney may present
the same case to grand
jurors as theft but later
negotiate a plea bargain
that results in a trespassing
conviction.
The instant background
check system was designed
to keep firearms out of the
hands of criminals. When a
gun retailer runs a check,
the system reviews criminal
records from throughout
the United States and
usually returns ‘‘clear’’ or
‘‘denied.’’ Sometimes,
though, the system comes
back ‘‘delayed.’’
ps Sorry but I copied and Pasted the story and it just wouldnt cooperate with me........
sales to take place in AlabamaMOBILE, Ala. (AP) —
Demario Terrell Davis’
2004 arrest on a misdemeanor
marijuana charge
popped up on a federally
required background check
when he sought to buy a
military-style rifle the following
winter.
Criminal history
records did not reveal the
outcome of that arrest,
however. Government
checkers had three business
days to find the
answer, according to the
law, or the sale could go
through regardless.
The government lost
that race against the clock,
and Davis had himself a
new .223-caliber Stag 15.
He later went to prison for
having the weapon.
Such situations are all
too common in Alabama: A
state-maintained computer
database has 2.7 million
arrest records that do not
reflect the outcome of the
case.
‘‘We have dispositions
without arrests,’’ said
Maury Mitchell, the director
of the Alabama
Criminal Justice
Information Center. ‘‘We
have arrests without dispositions.’’
In Davis’ case, the problem
might have proved
particularly frightening.
The day after Davis
acquired the rifle, officials
discovered that he was
prohibited from possessing
a firearm. In fact, police at
the time said Davis, his
brother and another man
called themselves the
‘‘Maysville Soldiers’’ and
were linked to gun battles
in their south-central
Mobile neighborhood.
Agents from the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives
soon arrested Davis for
having the rifle, and he
eventually pleaded guilty
and served a year in
prison.
There are several reasons
for the holes in the
information about criminal
records, according to
Mitchell and others.
While many courts send
the data to the state electronically,
for instance,
Mitchell said a substantial
portion still arrives on a
sheet of paper and must be
entered into the system by
hand.
Then, there is the problem
of matching the original
arrest to the charges
brought in court; they’re
often not the same.
Mitchell said a police officer
might initially file a
burglary charge, while the
district attorney may present
the same case to grand
jurors as theft but later
negotiate a plea bargain
that results in a trespassing
conviction.
The instant background
check system was designed
to keep firearms out of the
hands of criminals. When a
gun retailer runs a check,
the system reviews criminal
records from throughout
the United States and
usually returns ‘‘clear’’ or
‘‘denied.’’ Sometimes,
though, the system comes
back ‘‘delayed.’’
ps Sorry but I copied and Pasted the story and it just wouldnt cooperate with me........