Man sentenced to online purchase of nail gun: self-proclaimed to decorate and buy, found guilty in three trials

　　The paper reporter Chen Leizhu

　　An online shopping experience four years ago forced Mr. Gong from Shiyan, Hubei to face the charge of "illegal possession of guns." He still does not want to believe that the nail gun he used to decorate would be considered a "gun ".

Mr. Gong was seized by the police with a nail gun. The pictures in this article are provided by the parties

　　Mr. Gong opened a farm in Fangxian, Hubei Province in August 2016. He told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) that during the renovation, he followed the woodworker’s advice and bought a nail gun twice on the Internet. The police found that two nail guns were confiscated, one of which was identified as a gun.

　　On September 19, 2018, the Fangxian Court sentenced Mr. Gong to control for one year and one month for illegal possession of firearms. After Mr. Gong appealed, the Shiyan Intermediate Court made a ruling on April 26, 2019, and held that “the facts are unclear and the evidence is unclear. Insufficient”, the original judgment was revoked and sent back for retrial.

　　On December 30, 2019, the Fangxian Court made a first-instance verdict after a retrial, concluding that Mr. Gong was guilty of illegal possession of guns, but he was exempt from criminal punishment. After Mr. Gong appealed, Shiyan Intermediate People's Court made a final judgment on July 16, 2020, and upheld the Fangxian Court's guilty verdict.

　　It is worth noting that after the criminal case was filed, the public security organs conducted three appraisals on the nail gun purchased by Mr. Gong, and they all determined that the nail gun was a "gun", but the data in the first two appraisals were different. "The first time the specific kinetic energy of the muzzle was 6.64 joules, the second time was 194.14 joules, the third appraisal made during the retrial, I have not seen the appraisal report so far, only gave me a conclusion that the nail gun was identified as a gun ."

　　Mr. Gong told The Paper after receiving the final verdict recently that he still believes he is innocent and "will continue to appeal."

In the third appraisal of the nail gun by the public security agency, it was still recognized as a gun.

Man convicted of illegal possession of a gun for buying nail guns online

　　Mr. Gong opened a farm in the depths of a big mountain in Fangxian, Hubei Province in August 2016. He told The Paper that during the renovation of the farm, because it was located in the mountains without electricity, he accepted the woodworker’s suggestion and purchased two pieces online. The nail gun is convenient for workers to work.

　　“At the time, I never thought that this thing would involve crime.” Mr. Gong said that when he first searched for a shop selling nail guns on the Internet, the merchant once said that the nail gun was a decoration tool. After he bought it, due to the operation Improper, resulting in damage to the nail gun, so I bought a second one. "The nail gun was assembled by woodworkers. After the decoration was completed, I left it in the warehouse until the police came to investigate."

　　Mr. Gong recalled that on November 15, 2017, the nail gun he had left in the warehouse was seized by the public security organs. The police found that he had purchased a nail gun after checking the logistics information. After being appraised by the Shiyan Municipal Public Security Judicial Appraisal Center, the nail gun he purchased "fired with gunpowder as the power of ammunition, which is capable of causing injuries. It is a modified nail gun and should be identified as a gun."

　　Although Mr. Gong raised doubts about the appraisal results, the nail gun was still identified as a gun in the second appraisal afterwards.

　　On September 19, 2018, the Fangxian Court sentenced Mr. Gong to control for one year and one month for illegal possession of guns. Mr. Gong disagrees with the verdict and the two appraisal conclusions. He said that he disassembled the nail gun by himself when he handed it to the police. “It was assembled by the police or appraisal agency at the time of appraisal. The nail gun is modified from the nail gun, which is probably related to the assembly principle, but I did not assemble the nail gun during the identification."

　　After the verdict of the first instance was pronounced, The Paper reported on the case on April 24, 2019. After that, the Shiyan Intermediate People's Court made a ruling on April 26 of the same year, deeming that the facts of the original judgment were unclear and the evidence was insufficient, and the original judgment was revoked. Send back for retrial. The ruling showed that the Shiyan Intermediate Court, after reviewing the files, reviewing the evidence, and questioning the appellant, transferred the case to the Shiyan City Procuratorate for review. As the case required additional investigation, the case was postponed once on the recommendation of the Shiyan City Procuratorate. An investigating officer of the court had previously stated in an interview with The Paper that the case was transferred to the procuratorial agency because "Mr. Gong had doubts about the results of the appraisal."

The Shiyan Intermediate People's Court upheld the previous guilty verdict in the final verdict.

There are differences in identification data, and all three trials were found guilty

　　Mr. Gong’s questioning of the appraisal results stems from the two gun appraisal reports. According to the two appraisal reports he provided, the two appraisal reports show that there are many differences in the data of the two appraisals. The gun sound data, The projectile size, barrel length, barrel caliber, and the final specific kinetic energy of the muzzle are different. According to the regulations on the performance appraisal of the firearms and ammunition involved by the public security organs, the specific kinetic energy of the muzzle that fired projectiles is greater than or equal to 1.8 joules/square centimeter, and they are all regarded as guns. It’s 194.14 joules, a huge difference."

　　In view of the above reasons, after the case was sent back for retrial, the Fangxian Public Security Bureau conducted a third appraisal of the nail gun involved. The bureau issued a notice of appraisal opinion on May 30, 2020, saying, The BMW X5 nail gun was used to appraise the performance of the gun, and the appraisal opinion was deemed to be a gun."

　　Mr. Gong said that he did not see the specific content of the appraisal report from the beginning to the end of this appraisal. After a retrial, the Fangxian Court made a first-instance verdict on December 30, 2019, and held that Mr. Gong constituted the crime of illegal possession of firearms. Given that the circumstances of his crime were minor and did not cause serious consequences, and he had voluntarily turned over, he was exempted as appropriate. Criminal penalties.

　　The Paper noted that the description of the third gun performance appraisal in the verdict only stated that the nail gun submitted for inspection "muzzle specific kinetic energy greater than 1.8 joules/square centimeter" was deemed to be a gun, and there was no specific data.

　　Mr. Gong believed that his nail gun was a production tool and not a gun. The Fangxian Court’s verdict of guilt was unclear and insufficient evidence, and his behavior did not constitute the crime of illegal possession of a gun. He appealed accordingly and requested the court to acquit him. The Shiyan Intermediate Court concluded that although Mr. Gong bought the nail gun through legal channels, he also bought precision steel balls, high-pressure gas cylinders, magnetic rings, seamless steel pipes and other items, all of which were gun accessories. After three appraisals, they were all identified The nail gun involved in the case was a gun, and a witness said that he had seen Mr. Gong's gun and could shoot birds.

　　Based on this, the Shiyan Intermediate People's Court believes that the existing evidence can determine that Mr. Gong knew that the nail gun involved in the case was a firearm and deliberately possessed it, and accordingly ruled on July 16, 2020 to reject the appeal and uphold the original judgment.

　　On August 22, after receiving the final ruling, Mr. Gong told The Paper that although the case was retrialed, his sentence was changed from one year to one month to exempt from criminal punishment, "but I still think I am not guilty. Will continue to appeal".

　　(This article is from The Paper. For more original information, please download the "The Paper" APP)