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SALT LAKE CITY -- The man who accidentally fired a shot at a Provo restaurant yesterday is free to carry a concealed weapon again as investigators continue to look into the case. But some are questioning if his concealed-carry permit should be revoked.
As 36-year-old Ernest Fichler was led out of the Provo Olive Garden Wednesday, he left a trail of surprised diners inside.
"We were just sitting there, and we heard this bang. And my mom said, ‘Is that a gunshot?' And I said, ‘That's a gunshot.' And she said, ‘No way!' And I said, ‘I think that was a gunshot,'" Talia Hudson recalled.
Provo police say Fichler had taken prescribed pain medication. A manager said he seemed disoriented. Fichler reached down to do something to the gun, and it went off.
No one was hurt, but he was charged with discharging a weapon within city limits, a misdemeanor that may cost him his concealed carry permit if he's convicted.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) has a sliding scale to make those types of decisions. Depending on the crime, your permit can be revoked or suspended anywhere from three years to a lifetime. But people who accidentally fire shots in public places aren't always charged, so sometimes nothing happens.
For now, Fichler is free to carry. "No action would be taken until a conviction occurs," explained Jeff Dunn, a BCI firearms investigator.
The BCI checks daily for permit holders who've committed crimes. Violent crimes and felony charges get permits suspended immediately; others wait for a conviction.
"We see a lot of alcohol related instances. You see a fair amount of felony level, a lot of crimes of violence, a lot of protective orders," Dunn said.
In 2008, 332 permits were revoked and 495 were suspended. That's less than 2 percent of the 44,000 total permits issued that year. The majority of the holders are safe and law-abiding.
The numbers of revoked or suspended permits don't include cases like the one where a man's gun fell out of the holster in the bathroom at a Carl's Junior in Centerville and shattered the toilet.
No charges were issued there, meaning the man's actions were never evaluated by those who issued him the permit to carry the gun.
As of Thursday, there are more than $150,000 people issued permits by the state. For more detailed information on the concealed weapons penalties associated with certain crimes, CLICK HERE.
E-mail: sdallof@ksl.com
