New York Penal Law 265.11 Criminal Sale of a Firearm in the Third Degree Lawyer
Criminal sale of a firearm in the third degree is charged when prosecutors allege an unauthorized person unlawfully sold, exchanged, gave, or disposed of a firearm or large-capacity ammunition feeding device, or possessed a firearm with intent to sell it.
What Prosecutors Must Prove
Article 265 charges are not all the same. The New York Criminal Jury Instructions and Penal Law separate weapon possession, firearm possession, firearm use, firearm sale, sensitive-location, ghost-gun, and degree-based allegations. The specific subdivision controls the defense.
- The accused was not authorized by law to possess a firearm.
- The accused unlawfully sold, exchanged, gave, or disposed of a firearm or large-capacity ammunition feeding device, or possessed a firearm with intent to sell.
- The item legally qualifies as a firearm or covered feeding device.
- Intent to sell may be proven through messages, recordings, packaging, surveillance, confidential informants, or other circumstances.
- Police and prosecutors must establish reliability of informants, undercover operations, recordings, warrants, and chain of custody.
Example of How This Charge May Be Alleged
A third-degree firearm-sale case may involve an undercover operation, confidential informant, text-message allegation, search warrant, or possession-with-intent theory. These cases often require close review of recordings, police reports, informant benefits, and whether any actual transfer occurred.
Defense Issues
- Challenge informant credibility, recordings, and undercover procedures.
- Dispute sale, transfer, possession, or intent to sell.
- Challenge statutory firearm or large-capacity feeding device classification.
- Suppress searches, phone extractions, statements, and seized items.
- Investigate entrapment, agency, or unreliable cooperator issues where appropriate.
Evidence That Needs Immediate Review
Weapons and firearm cases often depend on body camera video, car-stop details, warrant papers, DNA, fingerprints, ballistics, operability testing, ammunition evidence, phone extractions, location data, confidential informants, undercover recordings, and statements. Early review can change how the case is charged, negotiated, or tried.
Lebedin Kofman LLP handles New York state weapon cases, federal firearm matters, serious felony defense, DWI-related weapon issues, and cases involving search warrants, vehicles, apartments, workplaces, and shared spaces.
Sentencing and Exposure
New York Penal Law 265.11 is listed as Class D felony. Actual exposure depends on the exact subdivision, prior record, violent-felony status, federal overlap, immigration or licensing concerns, bail posture, and whether the charge is tied to robbery, burglary, assault, drug trafficking, homicide, or another felony.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does the prosecution need an actual sale?
Not always. Penal Law 265.11 can include possession of a firearm with intent to sell it.
Are informants common in firearm-sale cases?
Yes. Many sale cases involve confidential informants or undercover officers, which makes reliability and recording review critical.
Speak With a New York Weapons Defense Lawyer
If you are charged, under investigation, or worried about a weapon, firearm, ghost-gun, search-warrant, or firearm-sale allegation, contact defense counsel before speaking with law enforcement.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page provides general information only and is not legal advice. Every case must be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances.
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- Speak with a lawyer about an arrest, investigation, court date, order of protection, license consequence, or federal exposure.
- Get early guidance before speaking with police, prosecutors, school investigators, insurers, agencies, or employers.
- Review defense options including dismissal, reduction, suppression issues, trial posture, negotiation strategy, and collateral consequences.