HOLDEN, Maine — A Winter Harbor man who was watching deer in a field from U.S. Route 1A was summoned when a rifle was found in the back seat of his pickup truck, police said.
Phillip Torrey, 40, was observing the animals with a pair of binoculars on the side of the road around 4:30 p.m. Friday, according to Holden Police Chief Gene Worcester.
Holden police Sgt. Gene Fizell noticed Torrey’s truck pulled over, and stopped to investigate.
The rifle’s safety was off, Worcester said, and a magazine attached to the rifle’s hinge had four cartridges in it.
Fizell confiscated the rifle and charged Torrey with possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a Class E misdemeanor.
Worcester said Torrey was not engaging in any hunting activities, but he violated state law by having a loaded gun in his vehicle.
So, watchng deer with binoculars from your vehicle with a loaded deer rifle is not a “Hunting Activity”? What does qualify?
even if he was hunting, im sure you can’t have more than three round’s at a time. or he would have another charge. anyhow no cwp no loaded in car stupid mistake.
I’m pretty sure the 3 shot rule is for migratory waterfowl otherwise you are allowed 5 in the mag and 1 in the chamber for a total of six.
my bad
You load your rifle outside of the vehicle. Its not that hard.
“Fizell confiscated the rifle and charged Torrey with possession of a firearm in a motor vehicle, a Class E misdemeanor.” Is this correct? Should the article say loaded firearm? Otherwise I’d like to know how anyone ever goes hunting in Maine unless they walk.
The only day they can charge you with that is on a Sunday. On Sundays the gun must be in a case in the trunk or broken down so it is not shootable. It should say charged with having a loaded firearm.
a permit to hunt does not give you the right to have a loaded firearm in the vehicle.you still need a resident or non resident permit it is in the book
The article said that having a firearm in the vehicle is a misdemeanor. We have enough people around who think that possession of any gun is a crime without that mistake going uncorrected.
the deal is no cwp, that is why i have one no problems.that is why he is in trouble, everyone should own a gun. dont get me wrong,no permit no load simple
I never said it did. A CWP does not apply to hunting rifles. You can never have a loaded rifle in a motor vehicle. On Sundays the law is much different. If I want to target practice on a Sunday my rifle must be in a case in the trunk or otherwise rendered unshootable. Like removing the bolt from a bolt action.
Rookie mistake by a heater hunter
He’s no stranger to the court system.
“But officer! I was just sitting here minding my own business, watching these beautiful deer graze! With a loaded weapon. That was ready to fire. Sitting here next to me. Oh the windows? I rolled those down because it was hot in here. In November. “
Same law applies if you’re in the woods!
Which law would that be? Do you mean while walking or driving? These laws are silly. If you have the magazine our of your rifle in your vehicle you are fine (nothing in the chamber). When you are in the woods and in a vehicle the only difference is you have time to unload your rifle before the LEO can approach you.
Driving in the woods during hunting season! I usaually have the .270 clip with the ammo in my lap and the gun in the front passenger seat. The game warden can’t get you for that. I remember a game warden jumping out of the woods into the path of my vehicle to see if he could catch me off guard with a loaded gun. The same game warden and I became good friends after he retired…I always enjoyed the stories he told me about how he would catch people off guard…some of the stuff they had to do to outsmart the law breaker was amazing. I suppose if you’re in the business for decades you get to know people’s cheating habits.
I hope the officer didn’t have a loaded long gun in his vehicle. There is no exception for law enforcement.
http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/12/title12sec11212.html
B. A person may not, while in or on a motor vehicle or in or on a
trailer or other type of vehicle being hauled by a motor vehicle, have a
cocked and armed crossbow or a firearm with a cartridge or shell in the
chamber or in an attached magazine, clip or cylinder or a
muzzle-loading firearm charged with powder, lead and a primed ignition
device or mechanism, except that a person who has a valid Maine permit
to carry a concealed weapon may have in or on a motor vehicle or trailer
a loaded pistol or revolver covered by that permit. [2005, c. 477, §9
(AMD).]
thank you. I have tried to make that point in laymens terms, but sometimes it takes tough love to get the message out.maybe now it will sink in NOT!
patriot act has a clause which grants all officers of acredited departments a national CCW/CWP reciprocity and police are granted an automatic CCW in maine.
And that allows them to have a loaded pistol or revolver. They are still forbidden from having a loaded long gun in their vehicles. The law does not allow anyone in Maine to have a loaded rifle in their vehicle. Any police officer driving a round with a loaded rifle is committing a class E crime.
I wonder how many rifles can be found in pick up trucks or vehicles…I guess the writer is not from Maine
Loaded and with the safety off, within arms reach, being tended-to by someone ‘observing’ deer on the side of the road.
Lets just be honest here. They guy was caught before he could actually begin the process of poaching (that day). you can wrap it up in whatever cute package you want…but he was fixin to jack him some deer.
YUPP
First thing you have to learn is what “jacking” deer is. You light them after dark to jack a deer. Was not dark and still legal shooting hours. “Being tended to”- the gun was in the back seat. “loaded with the safety off”- there was no shell in the chamber. How do you get caught before you actually begin the process? With all of your evidence the case would be thrown out before it got on the docket!
Grow up. That sounds like a metric ton of woodbooger justifications. He could reach the gun quickly, all he had to do was pop the magazine all the way in and he’s good to go. You can try and come up with all these stupid excuses…but it was obvious what he was up to.
Igrew up just a few years ago, thank you. He was watching the deer, yes we know that! He coulda’ shot them instead of watching. I’ll bet you’re smart enough to know what he was waiting for!
maybe he would have stepped out the truck to fire. its all hearsay and speculation. Also if he had a valid hunting license (which the article doesn’t say either way) shooting from the vehicle is not poaching.
I don’t understand why people make such stupid/ignorant comments when information/the law is so easily available at a click of the mouse on the State of Maine website(s).
TO HUNT means to hunt for, pursue, molest, shoot, catch, take,
kill wound or destroy wild birds and wild animals.
Magazine attached to the rifle’s “hinge” needs some explaining. You can have an unloaded weapon in a vehicle, and you can have a magazine in a vehicle. It was not on a Sunday, but may have been dark @ 4:30 on Friday. Wonder if they meant to say “sling”
Build more prisons!!!