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I have a friend who is 21 years of age, and wants to get a chl but has been charged with assualt with a deadly weapon when he was 16. He did serve a year or so of probation so i guess he was convicted? He no longer has any records of the arrest and the County Clerk could not find any records of this. Recently he was able to purchase a firearm at acadaemy so would this make him ELIGIBLE for a CHL in Texas? DPS says they check records of 10 years back, Just wanted to get some other input on this

Anyone?

He MUST declare it on his application. He MUST provide disposition from the Court or a letter from the Court that he has no convictions.

He may be eligible for a CHL and he may not be. It all hinges on the disposition (as stated by the Court - NOT him).

I agree with AEA. He has to declare it on the application, and then provide documentation regarding that incident.

He needs to contact the court of that incident and obtain a CERTIFIED COPY of what the county clerks final "Sentence and Judgement". If there isn't one, then he should obtain a CERTIFIED COPY a letter, by that court stating "no such records found" or words to that effect.

My brother had an arrest that no records could be found. When he applied for his CHL, he disclosed the arrest and wrote a note to DPS saying that the arresting entity did not have any records. That was sufficient for him to get his CHL.

bb281 wrote:I have a friend who is 21 years of age, and wants to get a chl but has been charged with assualt with a deadly weapon when he was 16. He did serve a year or so of probation so i guess he was convicted? He no longer has any records of the arrest and the County Clerk could not find any records of this. Recently he was able to purchase a firearm at acadaemy so would this make him ELIGIBLE for a CHL in Texas? DPS says they check records of 10 years back, Just wanted to get some other input on this

Was he certified as an adult? If not, he was a juvenile and he was not "convicted" of anything. If there are no records of something this recent, it makes me believe it was a juvenile matter, but I could be wrong.

Chas.

What was your brother arrested for?

Theft-Class B

I believe his conviction falls under the "disorderly conduct" group of violations and if this is the case he will not be allowed to get his CHL for at least 5 years from the time he was convicted (not the time from the incident). Being under the age of 18 has nothing to do with it. If the charges were dropped then he will have to show proof that they were and he should be able to get his CHL. Disorderly Conduct infractions are taken very seriously by the state because it shows a tendency for an individual to not be able to control him or her self.



PC §42.01
Disorderly Conduct
A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:
Uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of peace;
makes an offensive gesture or display in a public place, and the gesture or display tends to incite an immediate breach of peace;
creates, by chemical means, a noxious and unreasonable odor in a public places;
abuses or threatens a person in a public place in an obviously offensive manner;
makes unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, Local Government Code, or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy;
fights with another in a public place;
enters on the property of another and for a lewd or unlawful purpose looks into a dwelling on the property through any window or other opening in the dwelling;
while on the premises of a hotel or comparable establishment, for a lewd or unlawful purpose looks into a guest room not his own through a window or other opening in the room;
discharges a firearm in a public place other than a public road or a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001,Local Government Code;
displays a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm;
discharges a firearm or other deadly weapon in a public place in a manner calculated to alarm;
exposes his anus or genitals in a public place and is reckless about whether another may be present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.

It is defense to prosecution under Subsection (a)(4) that the actor had significant provocation for his abusive or threatening conduct

For purposes of this section:
an act is deemed to occur in a public place or near a private residence if it produces its offensive or proscribed consequences in the public place or near a private residence; and
a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if the noise exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making the noise receives notice from a magistrate or a peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance.

An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor unless committed under Subsection (a)(9) or (a)(10), in which event is a Class B misdemeanor.

It could be DOC, but Assault w/ a deadly weapon is more than likely going to fall under Aggravated Assault (the weapon enhances or "aggravates" the charge of assault).

However, as Chas. said if he was a juvenile, these "convictions" are sort of viewed as civil matter as far as courts of law are concerned - even though they dole out punishments. Juv. law is complicated. I know a juvenile cannot really be arrested - sure they can be put in handcuffs and transported, but its not considered an "arrest."

Still unsure how DPS will handle juvenile records. No record is every really "sealed." Try apply as a LEO at Local or Fed'l level...

LOL, as the legal person at the DPS instructors class stated "If you have ever worn the silver bracelets, write it down. We will decide if it's important."