Hello, my name is Nathan Shaffer; father of 2 beautiful little girls, husband to an amazing wife, and all around hard working career oriented man with 2 college degrees. I am currently sitting behind bars in Maricopa County awaiting sentencing for a crime I did not commit. I have no violent history and I am not a criminal.
On June 12, 2014, my mother in law was visiting our family from Colorado and she forgot a very strong seizure medication she normally takes. I was leaving with my children and a friend to go swimming at the lake, I had invited my mother in law and together we waited for my wife to come home from work. Once we were ready to leave, my mother in law saw my gun on my belt and freaked out, she grabbed the phone and immediately called 911 and on the call stated, I had a gun.
Within moments officers had arrived, and before I could explain the situation the officer began to berate me and would not take a moment to acknowledge the facts.
- · I had 2 adult witnesses that stated nothing happened.
- · My own surveillance did not show me holding a firearm once.
- · There was no sign of anything wrong, everyone was calm.
The police officer stated the fact a gun was on my holster in the surveillance, was proof I committed this crime. I did not deny owning a gun; I only denied the accusation of having that gun out. The police would not acknowledge, the gun was never seen anywhere off my holster. The officers also confiscated my wife’s gun out of her car, where she keeps it when at work and later this was introduced as evidence against me in court, even though it was nowhere in sight. Furthermore my mother in law explained what happened a few days later when she was able to get in touch with her doctor and get her Medication back in order, she explained why she became paranoid and scared, and even provided a Doctor’s note regarding the medication she let falter. This information was not considered and therefore was not disclosed. There was no victim present to testify against me. My mother in law did not come and was not requested. My wife showed up to say once more nothing happened and our family friend did the same.
The calls I made to my wife and children while incarcerated were introduced in the trial and was used against me; because I apologized to my children for not being there and told my family I miss them, this meant I was admitting guilt.
My mother in law's statement was removed from the case due to rambling and incoherent remarks. Still, she remained a victim; my wife was also considered a victim, even though she has repeatedly stated nothing happened. I was detained and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon times 2 and am now facing a mandatory imprisonment of 10 - 15 years.
During my time in Maricopa County, new charges have been filed against me, for shoplifting; there is currently no evidence for this new crime, but I am looking at an additional 4 year felony sentence.
I want to be back with my wife and my 2 little girls who depend on me.
I believe the only way that can happen is to hire a seasoned appellate and criminal defense attorney.
Any amount you can donate to help with this would be wonderful and greatly appreciated. Please keep us in your hopes and prayers.
Thank you
For more information please click here or visit www.FundedJustice.com
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