A simple traffic stop in Hamilton County, Ohio, has ended in a legal battle over the Second Amendment, after Kalidou Ngaide was found with a loaded firearm tucked under his driver’s side seat.
On Friday, the First Appellate District of Ohio upheld Ngaide’s conviction for the improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle, rejecting his claim that the law violates his constitutional right to bear arms.
The incident began when police pulled Ngaide over, and he informed them of the weapon’s location. While Ngaide might have expected his honesty to help, he was under a legal cloud that most Ohioans do not face.
Under state law, “qualifying adults” are generally allowed to carry firearms without a permit. However, because Ngaide had a pending charge for a violent misdemeanor at the time of the stop, he did not meet the legal criteria to be considered a qualifying adult.
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In court, Ngaide’s defense team moved to dismiss the charges. They argued that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, specifically the landmark Bruen decision, mean the government cannot criminalize the possession of a concealed weapon in a car.
The trial court didn’t buy it. While a judge did drop a separate concealed-carry charge because the gun wasn’t physically on Ngaide’s person, they moved forward with the charge of “improper handling” in a vehicle. Ngaide was ultimately sentenced to two years of non-reporting community control.
The appeals court was split on the matter, but the majority pointed to several recent local cases as a roadmap. The court noted that it has already upheld similar laws for people under 21 or those with pending charges. The judges reasoned that the state has a historical right to regulate how weapons are carried—specifically hidden ones—even if it cannot ban them entirely.
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Judge Jennifer Crouse, in a separate opinion, clarified that the law exists to prevent “surprise attacks.” She noted that a loaded gun on a floorboard is effectively hidden from anyone approaching the car, such as a police officer. However, she did leave the door open for future challenges, wondering aloud if a gun sitting in plain sight in a doorless vehicle would truly count as “concealed.”
Not everyone on the bench agreed. Judge Pierre Bock dissented, arguing that the court hadn’t yet settled whether a pending misdemeanor is enough to strip someone of their right to have a gun in their car.
Despite the disagreement, the conviction stands for now, marking another chapter in Ohio’s evolving interpretation of firearm regulations in a post-Bruen era.
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