Charges Dropped Against Bristol Man for Leaving Gun Outside Overnight on Porch
On Wednesday at a preliminary hearing in Bristol Borough District Court charges against a local man reportedly leaving a hand gun out overnight were dismissed.
Johnny Dee Spears Jr., 35 of Bristol was charged with reckless endangerment, possession of a weapon, and disorderly conduct, on August 31 related to a report filed by a neighbor in late July.
The complaint alleged a Spears’ neighbor found a loaded gun on his porch the morning of July 27. After retrieving the weapon and storing it in his 500 block Jefferson Avenue home, the neighbor contacted Police.
Video evidence of the gun being placed by Spears outside at 7:30 pm the evening prior to it being found by neighbors was reviewed by police. In the video, about one-hour later, four children are seen walking by the home where the fully loaded weapon was sitting in plain view, court records show.
Prior to Wednesday’s scheduled preliminary hearing, Spears, according to online court records, filed a motion in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas on August 15 to have the weapon returned to him.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s office filed an “answer” to Spears request on September 16 with a hearing scheduled to be held in the matter for October 19 in front of Judge Charissa J. Liller, court records show.
The outcome and whether the handgun was returned to Spears is unknown at present time.
At his Wednesday hearing Spears was represented by Thomas C. Clemens, Esq. of Clemens Law in Philadelphia.
Calls late Friday to County prosecutors, police and Spears’ attorney were unsuccessful in seeking information for why the charges were dropped.
The charges were dropped because no crime was committed. The firearm was on private property. Furthermore if any crime actually did occur it would be theft when the neighbor took property that didn’t belong to him from someone else’s private property.