Gun left in bathroom, owner to go on trial

OFF THE WIRE
BY: JAMES A. KIMBLE
Source: unionleader.com
New Hampshire - BRENTWOOD – A Manchester woman who told police she was associated with the Hells Angels is headed to trial for leaving a loaded 9 mm handgun inside the women's room of a Londonderry restaurant last August, court papers say.
Elizabeth Marston, 30, recently lost a bid in Rockingham County Superior Court to have her case dismissed after prosecutors argued that it should be left for a jury to decide whether Marston acted recklessly when she forgot she left the gun on a bathroom sink.

Judge Tina Nadeau denied Marston's request to have the charges tossed and scheduled a trial for the week of Sept. 13. Marston faces a single felony charge of reckless conduct.

Marston had been keeping the weapon in her purse on the night of Aug. 26, 2009 while at Whippersnappers Restaurant in Londonderry, prosecutors wrote.

But at one point, she took it out to get something else out of her purse and left it behind, according to court papers.

Another customer spotted the weapon and Londonderry police were called about 9:50 p.m.

Marston, who realized her purse was lighter than before, approached the police officer and told him she owned the gun, court papers say.

Police confirmed Marston had a valid pistol permit from Manchester to carry a gun, according to Assistant County Attorney Amy Connolly.

The officer noticed that Marston, "was wearing a bright colored red hooded sweatshirt that said 'support 81' on it. The term refers to the support of the Hells Angels," Connolly wrote. "(She) admitted to being associated with the gang."

Marston told the officer she drank about five or six beers that night, and the bar manager later issued a no-trespass order against Marston, Connolly wrote.

Defense lawyer Steven Levesque argued that his client simply made a mistake and should not have been charged because Marston did not intentionally leave the gun behind or mean to harm anyone.

She cooperated with police and only learned she was being charged on Sept. 9, when she promptly turned herself in at the police station for booking, according to Levesque. Marston remains free on $2,500 bail.

If she is convicted of felony reckless conduct, she could face up to 3 1/2 to 7 years in state prison.