With Liberty, And Justice For None

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On July 7th, 2012, D.C. police blocked off an entire neighborhood while 30 officers in full tactical gear aggressively raided a home of suspected criminal—a very dangerous criminal, one would suspect from the show of force. It turns out the police had no reason to believe to Mark Witaschek was a threat.

In fact, a month prior to this raid, Witaschek had voluntarily allowed a search of his home without a warrant. Witaschek believed he had nothing to hide. However, what police found in the DC businessman’s home led to a series of events where he now faces up to two years in prison.

According to D.C. law, each gun you own must be registered with the police. Possessing so much as the ammunition for an unregistered gun is illegal in the city, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

The Washington Times reports that when Witaschek allowed a gun recovery team to first search his home they found a perfectly legal Civil War era revolver, a cleaning kit, and one box of Winchester .40 caliber ammunition. They confiscated Mr. Witaschek’s antique firearm without justification.

At some point D.C. authorities became aware that Witaschek, an avid shooter and hunter, kept his guns at his sister’s residence in Arlington, Virginia. Two weeks after searching his home D.C. authorities asked his sister, Sylvia Witaschek, if they could see Mark’s guns. She refused and was served a criminal subpoena the following day.

Almost two weeks later an armed raid was conducted on Whitaschek’s home.

An emotional Whitaschek recounted to the Times that the police had terrorized his children, breaking down the bathroom door while his 16-year-old soon was showering and pulling him naked from the tub at gun point. Mr. Whitaschek and his girlfriend had guns pointed at their heads while police conducted their raid.

After finding a misfired shotgun shell, a handgun holster, a single round of spent brass, and ammunition for antique muzzle-loading rifles, police left, leaving Witaschek with what he estimates to be $10,000 in damage.

It wasn’t until August 21, 2012 that a D.C. Attorney General Irvin Nathan signed an affidavit which led to a warrant being issued for Witaschek’s arrest for illegal possession of ammunition. Three days later, Mr. Witaschek turned himself in. He was unreasonably held in jail overnight before being processed and released.

The Attorney General’s office has since offered him two plea deals, which he has denied on principle. After his refusal of the first plea offer, the AG’s office decided to add the charge from the box of ammo discovered in the first search of Witaschek’s home in order to pressure him into copping a plea. Whitaschek again refused. He will now stand trial and face up to two years in prison if convicted.

Why D.C. police and Attorney General Nathan seem so adamant about prosecuting a businessman who has done nothing wrong is anyone’s guess. But what is certain is Mr. Nathan’s uneven application of the law.

Nathan chose not to prosecute NBC reporter David Gregory when the reporter broke D.C. gun laws by possessing a 30 round magazine in the city limits and showing it on TV. Even though NBC had been specifically told by D.C. police prior to the incident they would have the item, Nathan did not intervene.

