I’m Very Scared My Husband Will Be Charged With A Felony And Have To Go To Prison As Well As My Friend.

I really need advice from a lawyer who is knowledgeable in this area so that we know what to expect. Right now we are preparing for the worst and are not okay.

My husband left behind a gun in a rental condo in the state of NY. He didn’t realize until we were two hours away. He tried to call the management office to let them know but had to leave a message.

The booking was under my friend’s name and contact info. She got a call from the local county police about an hour after we called the management office. The officer stated they would call her back on Wednesday with more information (today is Sunday).

My husband then called this county police and explained that the gun was his and that our friend had nothing to do with this and that all of the communication about this should be through him since it is his gun.

He was told the same thing, they will call back on Wednesday.

We are expecting the worst. I’m seeing that this is a class E felony which means he could face a year in prison or a fine. Everything I’m seeing does say “OR” a fine, not both.

We are so scared that he will have to go to prison for up to a year for this, even any amount of time we are very scared.

He is very accepting that he broke the law and the likelihood of him being charged with a felony. He has a clean record and has never been in trouble with the law except for speeding tickets (3 total I think?) he feels so so so terrible and understands these are his consequences but we just really are hoping he doesn’t go to jail for this.

I told him he should probably talk to a lawyer to be prepared for this conversation with the sheriff when they call back on Wednesday and he mentioned waiting until after the conversation to see what they’re gonna tell him. I just really feel like that is a bad idea and I don’t want him to accidentally incriminate himself but he thinks lawyering up will escalate the situation into something worse than if he didn’t.

So can anyone give guidance on what to expect and/or what we should do next?

Also, is there any way my friend will also get in legal trouble for this since the booking was in her name? She had nothing to do with this and my husband is taking full accountability for what happened.