So I went to pick up my New SKS from my FFL and found that my background check came back denied due to a felony arrest I had in 1997.

The arrest never went to court.
I never recieved any kind of a summons.

I was a juvenile at the time of the arrest.

(for the record I was a bystander who chose not to run when the police showed up so naturally when they were evaded by the others present they had no one else to charge with the crime but me and one other friend, the charge is arson..... I dunno I was 16 and I was watching some punk kids torch a porta pottie I didn't do anything so I didn't run)

I assume they never pressed charges due to a lack of evidence..

So I guess the case is currently open..

I called Arapahoe County district court and they said they have no record of the case.. so I call the APD and they give me a case number and the date it happened and then transfer me to records where I'm told how to get a copy of my arrest report..... in a later call to the district court I found that to get the record closed I need a copy of the arrest report and to fill out the "petition to seal arrest report" form. I guess the deal is the form is reviewed by a judge at arapahoe district court and he decides yay or nay on sealing the arrest report..

seeing as it is 8 years old give or take a few months and I've never heard a peep about this skeleton in my closet until I tried to buy a gun, What do you think the chances of this report being sealed and me being able to collect the two rifles I already paid for..

I read all the articles that can prevent you from purchasing a firearm in Colorado on the ATF website and every criminal related item requires that you have a pending case or that you were convicted of the felony in order to be prohibited from owning a firearm.

I guess the only glitch I could run into is if the judge reviewing my petition to seal decides to leave the case open.. I'm not sure why he would though seeing as no action has been taken on the case in 8 years.

Can I get some general opinion or possibly get a Judge or LEO in here to give me some Idea what I'm up against?

I feel I've done my research but the part I'm not sure about is the district court Judge's part in this and the criteria he would judge my arrest report on to decide to seal or not seal it.

I feel these are good checks and balances to have in place but the info I need is so spread all over the place its nuts...

I'm pretty confident it will be sealed and I'll be able to collect my new toys unless there is something I'm not aware of..

and if the judge decides not to allow me to seal the record what is my next course of action? Get a Lawyer and make an appeal?

Anyone else had this problem?

Talk about wrong place wrong time  

An arrest that was never followed up on and when you were a juvenile?  You can probably get that expunged by yourself without lawyering up.  And sounds like you have the necessary guidance.  

In any case, you have passed the statute for prosecution.  So the Judge is almost bound to seal the record or get it expunged.  They can't prosecute so why leave it open and you haven't been in any trouble since then.  In case he denies,  try Legal Aid first, they probably have somebody that does those periodically.

It's rather surprising that they even considered it since in almost every other field case law and precedence  requires convictions only be considered and arrests be ignored.

Small Update:

When I went to the APD office and did up a request form and paid my 5$ the lady at the counter went back and said she found my records but the nature of the felony being that it is an Arson case that is currently open I will have to wait until an Arson Detective can review my request and case to see if they will release the report to me..

The clerk said while the case was still open there was no mention of intent to prosecute. She sounded like I would probably get the records tomorrow or Monday. I asked them to put a note in there to get me contact information from the arson detective that reviewed the request. I plan to ask the officer his opinion on the likely hood of having the record cleared and for any information he can offer on what to do next to get this cleared from my record.

I get the impression this is going to take a while to resolve through the district court..

I’m still going to go through the motions to get this expunged while at the same time I’ll be applying for appeal of the NICS denial…

We’ll see which one takes longer…..

I’d rather not have to do the appeal thing every time I buy a firearm so I’m hoping to get the record closed.

drew

i suggest you omit to the detective that you need closure so you can purchase a firearm.
and a sks to boot. i doubt if you disclosed that info you would never get closure

Suggestion duely noted.

I've been coming from a position of the fact that I'm an IT contractor and have to reapply for contract work regularly and that it affects my ability to get jobs and affects my customers trust in the work I provide..

I belong to a 4X4 Website. One of the members is a Judge in the circut court in the same district court my charge is in.

He gave my answer to question 4 on the petition form the seal of approval and has assured me that REGARDLESS of the circumstances they are required to expunge the record because it was never brought to court.

here's my answer.. i feel it says what needs to be said without being overly descriptive of the fact that I'm picking up an AK and an SKS..how
4. The Petitioner further shows the Court that the harm to Petitioner’s privacy, or the danger of unwarranted adverse consequences, outweighs the public interest in retaining the records. Explain:

This open case is a blemish on my otherwise clean professional resume. I have almost 7 years of experience as an Information Technology consultant. Every time I apply for a job this shows up and I believe it is affecting my ability to advance my career. As a Consultant I switch positions frequently and a record like that limits how often I can get contracts, therefore limiting my income. Those who DO hire me will see that report will have less trust in me and therefore the service I can provide. I am also unable to purchase a firearm due to this open report. I would like to own rifles for recreational target shooting, home protection and collector purposes.

I'm fairly confident I can beat this with the blessing of a district court judge.


heres the link to my other thread..

http://www.colorado4x4.org/vbb/showthread.php?t=44166

If you were a juvinile why is it still on your record?  You need to find that fact out first as any juvinile activity should not be available.  Have you had any arrests since this arrest?

Felony arrests in CO stay on your record regardless of your age.  I know a man in his late 50's early 60's who had a felony arrest when he was 14.  He cannot buy a gun and the governor and judges have refused to expunge the record.

SRM

I have never seen a judge refuse to expunge records of an arrest if there wasn't a conviction.  

Moreover, in Colorado it is almost automatic that a juvinile record will be expunged if you file the right paperwork with the Courts.

P.M. me or e-mail me if you'd like a hand.