Attorney Peter L. Johnston, Esquire gets gun charge tossed that one his criminal defense clients was facing, resulting in more manageable plea agreement and  release from jail.

Mr. Johnston represented a Philadelphia man charged with gun possession and drug distribution charges after an alleged co-conspirator were found with narcotics on him and a gun was found under a trash bag in a nearby open backyard that the man had entered.  Police engaging in narcotics surveillance allegedly observed his client take money from individuals and give them objects that turned out to be illegal drugs and receive money from alleged buyers while his alleged co-conspirator handed drugs to the alleged buyer.  A conviction of both charges would likely have resulted in a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years in state prison.  While the narcotics charges were a challenge to defend, Mr. Johnston was able to convince a Philadelphia Common Pleas court to throw out the gun charge on the grounds that there was an insufficient amount of evidence to prove that his client constructively possessed the gun and that his client was merely present at the gun’s location.  As a result, the gun charges were stricken and his client subsequently agreed to plead guilty to a more manageable time-served sentence on the drug charge and be released to be begin a term of probation.