Opinion ID: 1266317
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Margaret Cobaugh's Firearms Forms

Text: Soon after the assault, Cobaugh attempted to buy a handgun for protection. In filling out the state and federal forms necessary for the purchase, she did not disclose, as required, that she had been convicted of felony burglary in 1951. That felony conviction would have rendered her ineligible to buy a gun. The forms were filled out subject to the penalties of perjury for any misstatements. Simmons argues he could have used Cobaugh's false statements on these forms to impeach her testimony at trial. Because of Cobaugh's omission, she was charged with violating the Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act, 18 Pa. Cons.Stat. § 6105(a), which bars a convicted felon from purchasing a firearm. The charge was dropped, however, after Detective Rok and Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Patrick Kiniry, the prosecutor on the Knaze case, arranged for Cobaugh to voluntarily surrender her gun to the police in exchange for the dismissal of the charges against her. Meanwhile, Kiniry kept possession of the forms that Cobaugh had filled out falsely rather than forwarding them to the appropriate authorities as he had done in other cases of suspected perjury. Simmons also asserts that this evidence would have been useful to support the argument that, because of the investigators' assistance, Cobaugh had a motive to offer testimony helpful to the Commonwealth at his trial.