GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A man whose guns were seized after he was committed to a mental hospital but were later returned to him has tried unsuccessfully to get criminal charges against him dismissed.
Twenty-six-year-old Stephen Drew Montana was jailed in April on federal charges of possessing weapons after being committed to a mental institution.
Montana’s attorney, Melvin Cooper, argued Wednesday that Montana only had the guns because Mississippi authorities returned them to him. The Sun Herald of Biloxi reports Cooper says Pascagoula police and the Municipal Court returned the guns without checking records that would have shown the commitment.
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Judge Sul Ozerden rejected the argument. Ozerden says the agencies, at most, showed negligence, and that Montana initiated the return.
The police and court are changing their practices to avoid a similar case.
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Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com
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