HARRISBURG Ex-cop loses appeal in felony case

The driver argued that DUI was not a criminal violation.
HARRISBURG (AP) -- A former police officer who argued that a drunken-driving conviction should not trigger felony penalties for carrying an unlicensed gun lost an appeal in state Superior Court.
Scott Alan Derr, 31, registered a blood-alcohol reading of 0.328 percent May 16, 2001, after police in Camp Hill found him asleep inside his pickup truck with the keys in the ignition, court records show. A shotgun and a loaded .25-caliber automatic handgun were in the cab, police said.
State law converts the offense of carrying an unlicensed firearm, usually a misdemeanor, into a felony when the defendant simultaneously commits any other criminal violation.
Derr had argued that driving under the influence was not a criminal violation because it is listed in the vehicle code rather than in the crimes code. The appeals court disagreed, noting in a Jan. 15 opinion that the crimes code does not include a number of crimes, including drug possession, liquor-law offenses and domestic-relations violations.
Problem with the argument
Jaime M. Keating, Cumberland County prosecutor, said that if the argument in Derr's appeal had been taken to its logical extreme, it would have nullified enhanced penalties for using a gun in the commission of a drug offense.
"The important thing to remember is we're not talking about people who are lawfully possessing guns with a license to carry. We're talking about carrying them illegally," Keating said.
Derr, who lives in Clinton County, said Wednesday that having a felony conviction on his record might prevent him from obtaining a boat captain's license or from one day returning to law enforcement.
He worked as a police officer in Millersburg, 20 miles north of Harrisburg, from 1991 to 1996, and also spent six months on the force in southeastern Delaware's Fenwick Island.
"All I was doing was moving from one place to the next and I forgot to take a magazine out of one of my pistols, and now I'm a convicted felon for life," said Derr, who indicated he may appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Mother had called 911
A police affidavit said Derr's speech was slurred and he had trouble keeping his balance when he was arrested near the home of his mother, who had called 911 to report he seemed drunk when he left her. A 12-gauge shotgun was on the bench seat, and police also recovered the handgun and a liter of vodka from the truck.
Derr received a sentence of 100 days to 23 months in April 2003 for the unlicensed firearm and lesser concurrent terms for carrying a loaded weapon, DUI and having a suspended registration. He received credit for 40 days in jail and 60 days in alcohol rehab and was paroled by the sentencing judge.