Reckless Endangerment Charges Reduced

A man in his mid-20s was recently charged with reckless endangerment of another person, a misdemeanor of the second degree, and disorderly conduct. Self-employed with his own car repair business, this man is a gun rights advocate in favor of Second Amendment rights. If convicted, he would no longer have been able to possess a firearm under federal law. At the time of the alleged offense, our client was parking at a gas station to buy cigarettes. An independent contractor who had been shoveling snow at the gas station got into an altercation with our client, which ended with our client drawing his firearm. The contractor alleged that our client pointed his gun at him, but our client did not.

Our client had previous traffic citations but nothing more serious than a summary offense on his record. He had made the initial mistake of going to his first hearing without a lawyer, where the prosecution offered him a plea deal of two years in prison. He hired our criminal defense attorneys to represent him for his next court date based on the circumstances. Attorney Mike Worgul attended one court date in a Cambria County magisterial district court after building a defense. After interviewing the client and reviewing all of the paperwork, Mike realized that the Commonwealth would not likely be able to prove the case based on the evidence. We appeared at the preliminary hearing, and after an hour of negotiations, all charges were reduced.

Our client plead guilty to a summary offense and paid a small fine, which is a serious reduction compared to a reckless endangerment conviction that would have led to prison time and other severe penalties. We were also able to help our client recover his gun and his permit to carry.

Case results depend upon a variety of factors unique to each case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any future case.