Prosecutors: No charges in convention gun incident
DENVER (AP) — Prosecutors said Monday they won't bring criminal charges against a man who carried guns in a case into a Denver hotel during the Democratic National Convention last month.
Joseph Calanchini was arrested Aug. 23 on suspicion of unlawfully carrying a weapon. Police say he had two hunting rifles and two pistols in a case when he tried to check in to a hotel where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was staying. Pelosi was evacuated from the building.
Denver District Attorney's office spokeswoman Robin Finegan said Monday that police never presented the evidence to prosecutors. Police did not immediately have additional information.
Calanchini had said he didn't know about the convention or that Pelosi was at the hotel. He says he's relieved the case is closed but hasn't gotten back his guns or other personal items seized from his truck.
"It has not been a good experience," Calanchini told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I know it was poor timing on my part, but I think it was just an overreaction" by police.
Calanchini, a salesman in the oil field industry, said he's lost some work because of the case. He said he brought the guns to Denver to have them worked on before a safari to South Africa.
His arrest didn't ruin his plans. He said he was able to get permission from authorities to make the trip, where he rented a rifle and managed to kill a warthog, an impala, a kudu and a wildebeest.
link
_____________________________