Charged with a weapons offense?A former police officer challenging the stop and the search.
Texas may be gun-friendly, but a weapons charge can land you in prison. Unlawful carrying, felon in possession, prohibited places, prohibited weapons — each charge carries its own penalties, and weapons charges are frequently stacked on top of DWI, drug, or assault arrests. Flat-fee representation in Harris, Montgomery, and Galveston Counties.
Texas is gun-friendly — until you cross a line you didn’t know was there.
Texas Constitutional Carry (HB 1927, effective September 1, 2021) allows most adults 21 and older to lawfully carry a handgun without a permit. But the law did not make every weapons charge go away — far from it. Texas Penal Code Chapter 46 still defines a long list of weapons offenses that carry serious penalties, from Class A misdemeanors to first-degree felonies.
If you have been arrested or charged with a weapons offense in Harris County, Montgomery County, or Galveston County, the defense starts with the same fundamental question that drives every gun case: did the police find the weapon legally? If the answer is no, the case can fall apart at a suppression hearing.
Texas Penal Code Chapter 46.
The two most-charged statutes — and the ones that produce the most prison time.
Under Texas Penal Code § 46.02, Unlawful Carrying of a Weapon (UCW) covers situations where a person legally prohibited from carrying does so anyway: under 21 (with limited exceptions), prior felony record, family violence conviction, active protective order, or while intoxicated. UCW is a Class A misdemeanor — up to one year in jail and a fine up to $4,000.
Under Texas Penal Code § 46.04, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon makes it illegal for a person with a felony conviction to possess a firearm. For the first 5 years after release from confinement or supervision, the prohibition is absolute — possession anywhere is a third-degree felony carrying 2 to 10 years in prison. After 5 years, the prohibition narrows to anywhere other than the felon’s own residence.
The full map of Chapter 46.
Beyond the two big charges, Chapter 46 covers prohibited places, prohibited weapons, and license-holder offenses.
Unlawful Carrying (UCW)
Carrying a handgun while legally prohibited: under 21 (with exceptions), prior felony, family violence conviction, active protective order, or while intoxicated. The most-charged weapons offense in Texas.
Up to 1 year jail and $4,000 fine.
Felon in Possession
Possessing a firearm with a prior felony conviction. Absolute prohibition for 5 years after release; thereafter, prohibited outside the felon’s residence.
2 to 10 years prison and fine up to $10,000.
Carrying While Intoxicated
Carrying a handgun while intoxicated — even with a license to carry. The LTC does not protect against this charge. Frequently stacked on DWI arrests.
Up to 1 year jail and $4,000 fine.
Weapons in Prohibited Places
Carrying in schools, government courts, polling places, racetracks, secured airport areas, bars (51%+ alcohol receipts), hospitals, or correctional facilities. Different sections, different penalties.
Third-degree felony for many subsections.
Prohibited Weapons
Possession of short-barreled firearms, machine guns, explosive weapons, firearm silencers, chemical dispensing devices, zip guns, or armor-piercing ammunition. NFA registration may provide a defense.
Third-degree felony — 2 to 10 years prison.
Federal Firearms Prohibitions
Federal law independently prohibits firearm possession by felons, domestic violence misdemeanants, persons subject to protective orders, and others — even when Texas would allow possession. Federal charges carry up to 10 years.
Up to 10 years federal prison.
Why weapons charges piggyback on other arrests.
Most weapons charges in Texas do not start as standalone arrests — they start as add-ons.
A DWI traffic stop turns up a handgun in the console. A drug arrest produces a weapon in the search. A domestic disturbance arrest discovers the suspect owns a firearm despite a prior conviction. The weapons charge is often the secondary charge, but it can carry more prison time than the underlying offense.
That structure matters for the defense. The weapons charge is only viable if the State’s evidence about the weapon survives. If the underlying stop, arrest, or search was unconstitutional, the weapon comes out — and the State has nothing left to prosecute on the weapons charge. KVM Law Firm builds suppression motions that attack the stack at its base.
How weapons charges are actually defended.
Most weapons defenses are constitutional. The Fourth Amendment is the centerpiece.
Illegal Traffic Stop
If the officer lacked reasonable suspicion for the initial stop, everything that flows from it — including the discovery of the weapon — can be suppressed.
Unlawful Search
No warrant, no probable cause, no genuine consent? Motion to suppress under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 38.23 and the Fourth Amendment.
Lack of Possession
Constructive possession requires the State to prove an affirmative link between you and the weapon. In multi-passenger vehicles or shared spaces, that link is often missing.
Lack of Knowledge
You did not know the weapon was there — common in borrowed vehicles, rideshare, shared apartments, or with firearms left by family members.
Statutory Exception
Many Chapter 46 offenses have explicit exceptions — license-to-carry holders, traveling exceptions, premises exceptions, and others. Application is fact-specific.
Disputed Status
Was the prior felony actually a final conviction for § 46.04 purposes? Was the protective order properly served and active? Status questions are often the case.
When KVM Law Firm files a motion to suppress, it is not boilerplate. It is built on the specific facts of the stop, the specific officer’s testimony, and the specific constitutional doctrine that applies to that scenario. Suppression hearings win cases.
A former officer who has conducted the searches he now challenges.
Attorney Kenneth V. Mitchell has personally conducted vehicle searches, pat-downs, and consent searches as a law enforcement officer. He knows the rules officers are supposed to follow — and the shortcuts they take when no one is watching.
That experience translates directly into weapons defense. When an officer testifies that they smelled an odor that justified a search, or that consent was “freely given,” or that a pat-down was for “officer safety,” Kenneth has seen those phrases used as cover for searches that did not meet constitutional standards. That gives him a critical edge when challenging how evidence was obtained in your case. Flat-fee defense in Harris, Montgomery, and Galveston Counties.
Weapons defense across the greater Houston area.
Harris County
Houston, Pasadena, Baytown, Katy, Cypress, Spring, Pearland, and surrounding communities.
Montgomery County
Conroe, The Woodlands, Spring, Willis, and surrounding areas.
Galveston County
Galveston, League City, Texas City, Friendswood, and surrounding Gulf coast areas.
Weapons charge in Houston? Challenge the search.
Free, confidential case review. Kenneth reviews every inquiry personally. If your Fourth Amendment rights were violated, the weapon comes out — and the case can collapse with it.