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No guns in the home for felons. No exceptions.
That's what the federal law banning felons from possessing firearms says. However, Columbia attorney Stephen Wyse has a different opinion.
In June, Wyse was the attorney for Columbia resident Rick Gurley after Gurley fatally shot a man named Cameron Caruthers. Wyse said at the time that Gurley shot Caruthers in self-defense after Caruthers had entered the home Gurley shared with Kelsy Poore, assaulted Poore, then turned his threat toward Gurley, according to previous Missourian reporting.
Poore told the Missourian in June that she believed Gurley should be arrested for the shooting. Police investigated but never arrested Gurley, and the Boone County prosecutor's office never charged him with a crime.
On Wednesday, however, Gurley was indicted by a federal grand jury for alleged possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney General for Western District of Missouri.
The indictment alleges that Gurley possessed a Mossburg, Model 500 A, 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition between April 1, 2016, and May 22. Gurley has a 1997 conviction for felonious restraint in North Carolina.
Wyse said he doesn't plan to represent Gurley during his formal arraignment and detention hearing on Tuesday, where Wyse said he's "better than 98 percent sure" that Gurley will plead not guilty.
Continue Reading: Attorney says weapons arrest violates felon's right to possess a gun
