He was not even touching the coat when the derringer fell out
Or did they charge him because it was his firearm and his coat
From the jsonline article:
According to the criminal complaint, Marvin W. Jackson, 34, was shopping in the Burlington Coat Factory at 3700 Durand Ave. After he took of his jacket and laid it on a rack while he tried on another, his female companion picked up Jackson's jacket and laid it over her arm because he had forgotten it on a rack earlier.
But as she did, Jacson's silver .38 caliber two-shot derringer fell out, hit the ground and fired a shot that pierced three sweatshirts before lodging in the metal display rack. The couple quickly left the store.
http://www.jsonline.com/newswatch/235138081.html#ixzz2o1u0Zmkk
So, if someone else picks up your firearm and drops it, you are to be charged with negligently handling and operation of a firearm?
There is almost no case here. The logical contortions that the prosection has to go through, to prove "negligent handling" are two and three times removed. It pushes the definition of "handling" to extremes that include every gun owner every day. It is not a far step from this to charge gun owners with negligence if their gun is stolen and used in a crime.