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Times Herald-Record
February 02, 2008
GOSHEN — A 4-year-old federal gun law is facing a test in Orange County Court, and a 33-year-old Coast Guard officer from Newburgh is staking his future on the outcome. Benjamin L. Booth, a petty officer assigned to a Coast Guard unit in New York City, was arrested last May after Newburgh city police stopped him for speeding on Broadway. Police ran a check on Booth's license and found that he was wanted for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. His license was still suspended. An officer found an unlicensed, loaded semiautomatic handgun in Booth's car during a routine search before impounding the car, according to a city police report.
An Orange County grand jury indicted Booth on a felony charge of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Booth's lawyers have filed court papers asking County Court Judge Robert Freehill to dismiss the indictment. Booth's lawyers argue that he falls under the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004. The law allows off-duty and retired cops to carry concealed weapons in any state without obtaining a state concealed-carry permit.
Booth's lawyers contend that he was carrying his Coast Guard identification and he has arrest powers as a federal law enforcement officer. They also contend that he qualifies as an off-duty police officer under the law because his duties in the Coast Guard are similar to the duties of federal officers who work for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Like the Coast Guard, ICE and Customs and Border Protection were folded into the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The Orange County District Attorney's Office hasn't yet filed its written response to Booth's lawyers. A spokesman for the office said he wouldn't discuss a pending case. After both sides submit their papers, Freehill will have to decide whether to toss the indictment or allow the case to proceed to trial. Booth faces dismissal from the Coast Guard if he's convicted of a felony.

omackson@th-record.com