Gabriel Metcalf is out of jail, but with a GPS ankle monitor, for which he must pay $9.50 daily or nearly $300 monthly.
In the Gun Free School Zone case in Billings, Montana, Gabriel Metcalf had pre-trial detention without bail changed to release on his own recognizance due to the facts and the excellent work done by his Federal Defender, Russell Hart. Judge Cavan realized Gabriel was not a threat and released him with some restrictions.
As Gabriel was about to be released, the Yellowstone Detention Facility administration told him he could not leave. Someone had discovered a warrant for his arrest. Russell Hart said something to the effect of: we have an order from the judge for his release.
The response was, you are a federal attorney. This is a local matter. You have no say in local matters. The warrant was said to exist but was not served until Saturday in court. At some point on Saturday, Gabriel was brought before a local judge, who approved of bail with restrictions. Gabriel was not supplied with a public defender at this point. If the defendant pleads “not guilty,” it is not required for an attorney to be present at the initial appearance. Law enforcement sources have verified this is considered a valid tactical timing decision.
One of the restrictions is for Gabriel to wear a GPS monitor. Metcalf is required to pay $9.50 per day.
The primary concern at the moment is for Gabriel to obtain adequate counsel for the local charge. The jail records show the local warrant, which was never served, was for misdemeanor assault from three years ago. This was an incident of one person’s word against another’s. The police were unaware of this warrant before Mr. Metcalf was charged with breaking the Gun Free School Zone law. With proper representation, many reasonable outcomes are possible. Even if convicted, which seems unlikely, Metcalf would not be prohibited from possessing firearms.
The record-keeping and communications systems in Billings seem to have significant weaknesses. The Billings Police Management publicly claimed they could do nothing for weeks because Gabriel was breaking no local laws. Apparently, all during this period, this old arrest warrant was available. During Gabriel’s month in pre-trial detention under the federal Gun Free School Zone Act, no one seemed to find this old warrant. Somehow, it was found just in time to prevent Gabriel from leaving the jail just as he was being released on his own recognizance for the federal charge.
David Carpenter, with a felony trial coming up, was not required to wear a GPS ankle monitor after only a few months without a reported problem. David had five misdemeanor convictions and is the person whom Gabriel and Vivian have the order of protection against.
Three hundred dollars a month is considerable when you are on the edge of paying your bills. Gabriel and his mother went into debt to survive, keep their home, and keep the utilities on when Vivian was ill with covid and pneumonia for two months, just before Gabriel’s arrest on the Gun Free School Zone charge. Gabriel had to care for her while she could not work.
Vivian, Gabriel’s mother, has set up a GiveSendGo site to help defend their home the Second Amendment and work to free Gabriel from this peculiar lack of a public defender and three-year-old charges.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
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