Charles City man convicted of illegally possessing ammunition after being convicted of felony

A Charles City man who had shotgun shells in his home illegally after being identified as a convicted felon has been found guilty on the offense.

Daniel David Collins, 49, of the 5000 block of Old Union Road, received the verdict after Friday morning’s contest trial.

On Jan. 4, former Charles City Sheriff’s Office Deputy Norman Gray responded to a call for service of a possible domestic dispute. Upon arriving at the residence of the defendant, it was Collins who requested assistance, stating that he was in a situation with a family member and didn’t know how to happen it. As part of procedure, Gray asked Collins if he had any weapons in the home. While the defendant told the officer that he didn’t have any firearms to his knowledge, there were shotgun shells in one of his drawers.

Gray was allowed to search the house and discovered the shells at the location the defendant had indicated. The officer asked Collins about his criminal background, and Collins told the officer that he was a convicted felon. Because he’s not allowed to have ammunition due to being a convicted felon, Collins was arrested on the possession charge.

Defense attorney Tim King’s cross-examination challenged the officer’s explanation and knowledge of shotgun shells. King questioned Gray if he knew was ammunition was, classifying that the officer was not an expert. However, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Tyler Klink rebutted, saying that the officer had sufficient training with firearms and ammunition that would allow him to be knowledgeable of the subject, but not an expert. Judge William Shaw agreed with the Commonwealth, allowing the officer’s expertise to be sufficient to identify ammunition.

Collins elected to testify on his defense, emphasizing that he was the one calling for help and didn’t know what to do as part of handling the domestic dispute. When Collins was asked by King why he had the shotgun shells, the defendant responded that he used to work as a guide for sportsmen who used to shoot sporting clays.

“Those shells were in my clutter drawer, and I don’t know how long they have been in there,” Collins said. “I don’t know of anybody who doesn’t have a clutter drawer with a little bit of everything in there.”

However, Klink’s cross-examination centered around Collins’ knowledge of the items being there.

“You told the officer that there may be some and you knew where they were, so you have to know there were shells there,” Klink commented, pointing to testimony from the officer earlier in the trial.

Despite the defense’s motions to strike and dismiss the charges, the judge denied the motion, but was sentimental as he handed down the guilty verdict.

“What good is a conviction based on the equity of the crime?” Shaw said, pointing to how the defendant was the individual who called for assistance and was cooperative the whole time the officer conducted the investigation. “The defendant was candid the whole time.

“The evidence is there to convict him of the crime, but the justice isn’t there,” the judge added. “I find him guilty, but I want to read the presentence report once it’s complete.”

Formal sentencing for Collins is scheduled for Dec. 2.