A four-judge panel of the New York State, Third Department, Appeals Court has upheld a county judge’s decision and discretion to rescind a man’s pistol permit after he was arrested for displaying the loaded handgun as he argued with a neighbor, the New York Law Journal reported.
Though Rocco DeAngelo was ultimately acquitted of second-degree menacing in connection with his running feud with the neighbors, an Appellate Division, Third Department, panel said that Otsego County Court Judge Brian Burns is “vested with broad discretion” when determining if pistol holders should be allowed to retain their permits.
According to the ruling from Justice John Egan Jr., DeAngelo and his nearby neighbors in rural Otsego County had gotten into an escalating dispute that included the neighbor’s 4-year-old daughter making obscene gestures at DeAngelo whenever he would drive by her house.
Tensions escalated when neighbors allegedly blocked the road they share with DeAngelo and prevented him from driving past. DeAngelo said he displayed his loaded handgun because one of the neighbors was brandishing a baseball-sized rock and he was worried for his safety.
Though acquitted of the criminal charges, Burns brought a hearing in his capacity as Otsego County’s handgun licensing authority and rescinded the license DeAngelo had held since 2009. The Third Department noted that DeAngelo acknowledged during the hearing before Burns that he’d wished he had “[kept his] mouth shut” and not argued with his neighbors.
