CORRECTIONAL OFFICER GUILTY OF VIOLATIONS
OF GUN LAWS

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler today announced today that Shawniquea N. Robinson, 29, of the unit block of Augusta Avenue in Baltimore, was found guilty by Judge Richard Bernhardt in the Circuit Court for Howard County of making a false statement on an Affidavit and Application to Purchase a Regulated Firearm, perjury and attempting to illegally possess a regulated firearm. The defendant is a correctional officer at the Maryland Correctional Adjustment Center.

The State’s evidence showed that the defendant, while subject to a civil protective order, attempted to retrieve her handgun from the Baltimore City Police Department which had taken possession of it. Because of the protective order, she was unsuccessful in obtaining the weapon. Ms. Robinson then attempted to purchase a semi-automatic handgun at a gun store in Glen Burnie. In her application she denied that she was subject to a protective order. She affirmed under penalty of perjury that her answers were true and that she was not prohibited from purchasing or possessing a regulated firearm. All handguns are regulated firearms. A person who is a respondent against whom a current civil protective order has been entered may not possess a handgun.

The application was forwarded to the Licensing and Registration Division of the Maryland State Police. Upon confirming the existence of the protective order, the case was referred to the Firearms Trafficking Unit of the Office of the Attorney General for further investigation and prosecution. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Clarence Goetz for his work on the case.