Opinion ID: 1442279
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Possession of a concealable firearm

Text: Upon appropriate motions for judgment of acquittal the defendant has properly raised for review his contention that, since the deputy sheriff who seized the weapon testified he saw the butt of a gun in the pocket of Heald's jacket as the defendant wheeled away from him, it was error to find the defendant guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon under 15 M.R. S.A., § 393, where the proof revealed that the pistol was not concealed. In support of his contention, the defendant cites: People v. Crachy, 131 Ill.App.2d 402, 268 N.E.2d 467 (1971), Clemons v. State, 9 Md.App. 127, 262 A.2d 786 (1970), and Prince v. Commonwealth, 277 S.W.2d 470 (Ky.1955). These cases are not apposite, since in each one the statutory proscription had to do with the carrying of a concealed weapon. Our statute, on the other hand, makes it unlawful for a felon within a stated period of time to have in his possession any pistol, revolver or any other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person. In section 391, the Legislature further defined a weapon capable of being concealed upon the person as including all firearms having a barrel of less than 12 inches in length. The Legislature, under 15 M.R.S.A., § 393, intended to proscribe, not only the possession upon one's person of a concealed weapon, but also the carrying of a weapon which was capable of being concealed upon the person, whether the weapon was hidden from view or not. The essential characteristic of the firearm which brings it within the scope of the statutory ban is its concealability. We said as much in Toussaint v. State, Me., 262 A.2d 123 (1970), where this Court ruled that possession of a firearm as described in the statute was one of the essential elements of the reference statutory crime. [6] Moreover, the defendant's claim that the State failed to prove the concealability of the firearm involved is without merit. The revolver was an exhibit in the case and the jury had it in the jury room during their deliberations. The jury could as the factfinder determine from the exhibit itself its capability of being concealed upon the person and could conclude from the mere view thereof that its possession satisfied the requirements of 15 M.R.S.A., § 393. See State v. Smith, Me., 379 A.2d 722 (Opinion dated November 4, 1977).