Felony Case Dismissed Before Arraignment After Defense Shows Reported Victim’s Story Did Not Match the Video

Our client was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and threat to commit a crime after another driver claimed that our client pointed a handgun at him during a roadside confrontation. The case was serious: the complaint application sought a felony charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, with the alleged weapon identified as a handgun.

On paper, the accusation sounded frightening. According to the police report, the reported victim claimed our client got out of his car, pointed a black or gray semiautomatic handgun at him, assumed a two-handed firing stance, and threatened to shoot him. A second witness corroborated the accusation.

But the objective evidence told a very different story.

The defense obtained and highlighted video from our client’s vehicle showing the reported victim’s car approaching from behind, passing our client, and then quickly stopping in front of him.

That mattered because the reported victim’s account omitted the most important part of the encounter: his own aggressive driving. It also helped show that our client was not the aggressor — he was the person being endangered.

Attorney Murat Erkan presented the videos to the prosecutor and explained why the reported victim’s story could not be trusted. The defense position was direct: the evidence showed that the reported victim and a supporting witness had misled police, that our client was the actual victim of the confrontation, and that the Commonwealth should not arraign a felony case built on materially false accusations.

The defense also prepared a proposed criminal complaint application against the reported victim and made clear that, if the Commonwealth proceeded against our client, the false statements and misleading police report would become the central issue in the case.

After reviewing the evidence, the prosecutor agreed to step the case back.

The felony case was dismissed before arraignment.

This result avoided the lasting damage that can come from being arraigned on a felony charge and showed why objective evidence matters. A police report is not the same thing as the truth. Sometimes the video tells the story the accusation leaves out.