Chester Brown court van
Chester Brown arriving at Rappahannock County Circuit Court on Thursday.
Rappahannock Circuit Court Judge Matthew Snow denied a motion Thursday to dismiss an indictment against Chester Brown on charges of possessing a firearm while a protective order was in effect.
Brown, 63, of Washington has been charged with felony firearm charges in connection with a .38 caliber revolver the prosecution claims belonged to Doris Critzer, 74, who was found murdered in her Washington home on Aug. 23. Brown is not charged in connection with the homicide and the investigation is still open. A photo of the pistol was found among Brown’s deleted photos on his cellphone, according to the prosecution, but the weapon has not been recovered.
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The prosecution contends that Brown was in possession of the firearm at the time he was under a two-year protective order issued by the District Court on behalf of a woman who filed an affidavit on Nov. 9, 2021, alleging Brown followed her to where she worked. She wrote he “was looking for work and asking for cash and was very pushy.” Her affidavit said he touched her in private areas and exposed himself.
Brown’s lawyer, Joseph R. Pricone of Warrenton, argued that the law preventing people under protective orders from possessing firearms itself was unconstitutional and went against the Second Amendment, which protects the right to bear arms. He cited two appellate court cases to that effect, one of which is before the U. S. Supreme Court awaiting a decision.
“The conduct fits squarely into the Second Amendment,” Pricone argued in court.
“With the exception of being a convicted felon, Mr. Brown is an ordinary and law-abiding adult citizen,” Pricone wrote in his motion to dismiss. He added that Brown is a former member of the U. S. Armed Forces, and has resided in Rappahannock since 2012.
Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff countered the argument, offering historical analysis and claiming that the right to bear arms is “not a right without limitations,” and that it is within the right of the law to prevent “those people who would not be law abiding” from having firearms.
“The Second Amendment protects law-abiding citizens, not outlaws, not dangerous people. This is a dangerous man…he is not law abiding,” Goff said.
After closing arguments, Snow denied the motion to dismiss, and said that if an opinion was released from the U.S. Supreme Court before Brown’s court date, he would allow Pricone to reraise the issue.
“It’s an interesting issue and one that’s still developing,” Snow said.
Members of the Critzer family attended the court hearing.
A jury trial is set for Brown on March 21 on these charges as well as felony theft of a firearm. But before that, Brown is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 15 on charges of possession of a firearm with a previous felony conviction.
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