Hamilton County prosecutor Nicole Evans read the firearm charges against Raymond Rzeplinski quickly and constantly for 48 minutes, only pausing at counts 18, 29 and 39 to take a gulp of water.
While Rzeplinski, 50, pleaded not guilty Tuesday in front of a jury to a 57-count indictment against him, Evans caught her breath.
He faced his second day of trial Wednesday in front of Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Amanda Dunn.
Rzeplinski is accused of illegally owning and keeping more than 50 guns in his Hixson home. The guns were discovered after a standoff with the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team Aug. 19, 2019.
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Hamilton County man facing multiple charges for allegedly illegally owning over 50 guns
After the state finished putting on evidence Wednesday, Rzeplinski was found not guilty of one count of reckless endangerment in connection with the 2019 incident; Dunn granted a motion for acquittal after prosecutors failed to prove certain elements of that crime.
He remains charged with 54 counts of possession of a firearm with prior violent felony conviction, one count of possession of prohibited weapon and one count of resisting arrest.
Rzeplinski’s defense, which is the central issue of the trial, is somewhat unique.
He alleges he didn’t know he was a felon and neither did the state of Tennessee, according to his attorney Ben McGowan.
PRIOR FELONY
Rzeplinski and three others “screwed up” almost 30 years ago when they were all teenagers in Bradley County, McGowan argued during opening statements.
The group was driving around, drinking and smoking cigarettes Oct. 2, 1995, McGowan said. One of the teenagers was allegedly huffing paint, and another was passed out in the back of the car.
They ran out of cigarettes, so they drove to a nearby grocery store, McGowan said.
It was closed, so some of the group broke inside the store to steal cigarettes, he said. Rzeplinski was eventually picked up by police.
Rzeplinski allegedly didn’t want to tell his parents and was passed between several public defenders. He pleaded guilty to burglary, which is a felony crime, McGowan said.
He said he was confused about his sentence.
Rzeplinski went on to have dozens of background checks during his lifetime for employment and permits, and he was never flagged as a felon, McGowan said.
“Really what this case is about is when the government screws up,” McGowan said. “Who pays the price on that?”
THE TRIAL
Rzeplinski’s neighbor, Steven Vaughn, heard a gunshot at about 5:30 a.m. Aug. 16, 2019, Vaughn testified.
“I heard a voice say come and get me,” Vaughn said. “I’m assuming it was Ray (Rzeplinski.)”
Around the same time, law enforcement responded to a burglary alarm at Rzeplinski’s home on the 1500 block of Crabtree Road, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Aaron Cameron said.
Rzeplinski appeared agitated, and he told deputies in a threatening manner that they were not needed, according to Cameron. He was wearing a gun in a holster.
Deputies returned to Rzeplinski’s home later, according to testimony by multiple deputies. Rzeplinski’s family had expressed some concern about his mental health.
He allegedly barricaded himself inside the home, according to multiple deputies. He was known to be armed at this point.
Several deputies testified Rzeplinski was not obeying orders, would not come outside and was wearing a gun holster. It was later determined his holster was empty.
Suddenly, SWAT members started coming down the hill with guns toward Rzeplinski’s house, his neighbor, Judy Dixon, testified.
Dixon said she witnessed Rzeplinski exit his house with his hands raised.
Many law enforcement agents jumped him, and he was dragged into the street, Dixon testified.
“I’ve never seen anything like it except on TV until that day,” she said. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Rzeplinski, according to McGowan, spent four days in intensive care following the incident.
A sergeant uncovered and confirmed that Rzeplinski had a prior felony conviction, which had not previously shown up in a statewide database search, Sgt. Jason Maucere testified.
Maucere presented the felony conviction to a magistrate judge in order to obtain a warrant. His home was searched at least twice, and there were more than 50 guns located.
But Rzeplinski, who alleges he didn’t know he was a felon, appeared to have obtained the guns through the proper channels without being flagged as a felon, according to evidence presented in court.
There were dozens of receipts from Walmart and other reputable gun dealers for his purchases, according to Maucere.
It allegedly indicated that Rzeplinski used his own information and swore he was not a felon on the applications, McGowan argued.
“It’s not an honor system,” McGowan said. “The government does a background check.”
In opening statements, Evans argued that Rzeplinski wasn’t ignorant. He was taking a risk, she said.
TRIAL ACCESS
The start of Rzeplinski’s trial was postponed by one day after the Hamilton County district attorney’s office attempted to ban a Chattanooga-area blogger and radio host from the courtroom.
Radio personality David Tulis, who has covered Rzeplinski’s case at length, had allegedly encouraged jury nullification at his trial.
In essence, jury nullification is when jurors return a not guilty verdict based on their own sense of justice even if the evidence proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Last week, Evans filed a motion asking Dunn to ban Tulis from the courtroom during the trial and to allow prosecutors to strike potential jurors who had listened to Tulis’ radio show, read Tulis’ blog or spoken with him about Rzeplinski’s case, the motion states.
Dunn ruled Tulis was allowed to be present at the trial because courtrooms must be open to the media even if the reporting may be biased or potentially unfair, an order states.
It took most of Tuesday morning to seat at jury. At one point, Tulis was briefly called out by a bailiff for attempting to take a video or picture of the door where jurors enter the courtroom.
Jurors should never research or talk about a case while it is ongoing, Dunn said.
Rzeplinski had more than one outburst in front of the jury, and Dunn gave him a second and final chance Wednesday afternoon to remain silent.
“I didn’t know I had done anything wrong,” he said to Dunn when the jurors were not present.
“It’s clear that you’re upset,” Dunn said.
Contact Sofia Saric at ssaric@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476.