Letters prompt Red Flag ruling

Warren County man one of 1st in state to surrender gun

A Warren County man is one of the first gun owners in the state to surrender his firearm under the state’s new Red Flag law after he sent threatening letters to public officials.

Mario Hepp, 75, surrendered his handgun after a judge in Warren County issued a temporary suspension order for his handgun permit. Hepp could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. A woman who answered a phone number associated with him said they did not want to talk about the matter.

“I expressed myself. They took it as violent,” Hepp told the Post-star, which first reported the case. “I’m an upstanding citizen. I’ve never been in any trouble in my life.”

The law, which went into effect in August, allows family members, teachers, doctors and law enforcement to ask courts to order the seizure of firearms from people who are legally deemed dangerous to themselves or others. Gov.

Andrew Cuomo signed the legislation in February.

The firearms can be held for a year unless there is new evidence that leads to an extension of the seizure order.

In August, the state attorney general’s office contacted the Warren County Sheriff ’s Office after Hepp wrote a series of letters with “violent” and “derogatory” language to elected officials, according to sheriff ’s spokesman Lt. Steve Stockdale. The Post-star

reported that they included the threat that “someone should put a bullet in” an unidentified official.

The letters did not rise to the level of criminal action because Hepp never threatened to carry out violence himself.

Warren County Judge John Hall issued an order Sept. 13 to temporarily revoke Hepp’s handgun permit until a formal hearing can be held to consider permanent revocation.

Hepp was cooperative and surrendered his firearm without any issue, Stockdale said.

Stockdale said the

department, like others across the state, is still working out how the law should be enacted.

“It’s a balancing act,” he said. “We’ve got constitutional guarantees to our citizens and we’ve also got an obligation to uphold public safety. When we’re weighing these things, public safety is our priority and we certainly hope that anyone else who goes in front of the court, that he gets treated fairly.”

Tom King, president of the New York State Rif le and Pistol Association, said the law denied lawful gun owners their due process

rights.

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of due process coming after your property has been taken,” he said. “You don’t even get to confront your accuser.”

Last month, a Stephentown man became the first person in the state to have his weapons seized after an incident in which he allegedly fired a pistol and struck a neighbor’s car, and later indicated he might harm himself. He was criminally charged in that case.