A North Carolina man living in his car was wrongfully convicted of having a semiautomatic weapon when he parked outside a university hospital and sought emergency medical care, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.
An Orange County jury in 2022 found Joseph John Radomski III guilty of firearm possession near the hospital on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus. A police officer had spoken to him and recovered several guns from inside his car. Radomski received probation and a suspended sentence.
The intermediate-level state Court of Appeals panel determined that under Radomski's circumstances the law that makes it a low-grade felony to possess a firearm on “any kind of educational property” was unconstitutionally applied to him by restricting his Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The ruling doesn't completely strike down the law, which is designed to protect the public from potential gun violence in sensitive areas like schools.
In this case, state attorneys defending the prosecution failed to demonstrate that regulating Radomski’s firearm possession “is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation,” Court of Appeals Judge Hunter Murphy wrote in the prevailing opinion that vacated the conviction and dismissed the case.
The evidence shows “everything in the world he owns, including his firearm, was in his car; and that he drove his car to UNC Hospital to seek emergency medical attention,” Court of Appeals Chief Judge Chris Dillon wrote while agreeing with Hunter on the result in a separate opinion. “There was no evidence that Defendant had the opportunity or means to store his firearm before proceeding to the hospital.”
Radomski, 42, of Yanceyville, had come to the hospital in June 2021 for treatment of a kidney condition and parked his vehicle, with all of his personal belongings, in the back cargo area.
Radomski parked in an open-air lot near a health building. While the lot is patrolled by UNC Hospital police, a UNC-Chapel Hill police officer was asked by the hospital to investigate the vehicle, which had neither a license plate nor insurance. The officer questioned Radomski, who ultimately acknowledged firearms inside. Six long guns, including semiautomatic rifles and a shotgun, as well as ammunition, were recovered. He was indicted on one count a few months later.
The parking lot is in the heart of the campus close to the football stadium, but it's also situated near the emergency room entrance and another health care building. Murphy wrote that Radomski's attorney argued successfully that the parking lot is not educational in nature but rather provides access to health care facilities. And just because areas around it mention UNC or use the school's iconic blue color doesn't mean the lot fits the “educational property” definition, Murphy wrote.
There was no immediate comment Tuesday from the state Attorney General's office on the court's decision. A further appeal can be sought.
Murphy and Judge Jeff Carpenter, who also heard the case, agreed that even setting aside the constitutional concerns in the case, the prosecutor failed to present substantial evidence that Radomski knew he was on a campus. The officer's testimony indicated Radomski said several times he was unaware that he was on an educational property. But Dillon disagreed, writing there was evidence that Radomski would have passed signs showing he was on the campus.