IN THE CITY OF ANGELS

Darell Daniels and Doncell Roshon-Hauser's Self-Defense Story

Discover how USCCA Membership provided critical support to Darell and Doncell, helping them navigate legal challenges and reclaim their lives.

Location: Los Angeles, California
Charges: Assault With a Semi-Automatic Firearm
Not Guilty: Charges Dropped
$49,997: Legal fees covered

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It was a week before their wedding…

Strip-searched, jailed, and charged with felonies, despite calling 911 themselves … not what they expected to experience after saving their own lives.

Darell and Doncell moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles for a fresh start. They had been planning their wedding ceremony for months. Surrounded by their children and family, they were excited about a new life in a new city.

Then … Darell's ex showed up.

She had flown in from Philadelphia and wanted the kids. She arrived with two grown men Darell had never seen before.

"I don't know at all who they were or where they came from," Darell said.

His three children peered out the window. Darell and his mother stepped outside.

There were words, then the group backed up when Darell retrieved a firearm ... but the words continued.

Then … the shoving started.

Darell's 67-year-old mother was pushed forcefully to the ground. Not once, but twice. Darell moved to help her … and within moments, all three intruders were shouting, cursing, and closing in.

Doncell was inside watching it unfold.

When she saw her fiancé's mother hit the ground, she retrieved her own firearm. She never crossed the front door threshold. But she made it clear she had a gun in her hand, that she knew how to use it, and that she was willing to if they didn't back off.

"Please leave!" she shouted.

She was already on the phone with 911 as she said it.

The dispatcher told her to wait for police. Doncell told the dispatcher she wasn't putting her firearm away until the intruders were off Darell and everyone was safely inside.

She stayed on the line.

Then she heard sirens. And a helicopter.

Apparently, the ex had also called 911.

"They have guns pointed at us," the ex had claimed.

Squad cars screeched into the street. Seven or eight officers arrived with ARs drawn – aimed at Darell and Doncell.

By then, the ex and the two men had already fled. The children and Darell's mother were safe inside.

Darell and Doncell put their guns away and locked them in the safe.

It didn't matter.

Police ordered everyone out of the house with hands raised. They were handcuffed. Darell's teenage son was handcuffed. The home was searched top to bottom … every drawer opened, every closet ransacked, the sofa pulled from the wall.

Seven firearms were confiscated – their handguns, a cased shotgun. All legally owned.

The same questions, over and over: "Where are the guns? Where did you get them? Why do you have them?"

At the station, they were read their Miranda rights. Fingerprinted. Strip-searched. Separated and placed in cells.

Several days later, they were officially charged with violating California Penal Code Section 245(B) – assault with a semi-automatic firearm.

Felony charges … the kind that can mean prison and life-altering fines.

Bail was set at $75,000 each.

They dug into their savings, the money they had set aside for the wedding, and posted bail.

When they finally got home, Darell called the number he had kept as a USCCA® Platinum Member.

The Delta Defense Critical Response Team connected them with Los Angeles attorney Andrew Beltran of Rogers | Beltran LLP – a former U.S. Marine who had served in both Afghanistan and Iraq and now practiced criminal defense and civil rights law in California.

Beltran got to work immediately.

His first move: help the couple get reimbursed for the bail bond payment they had already posted out of pocket.

Darell's USCCA Membership benefits, which include Self-Defense Liability Insurance as a benefit of membership, covered that … and more.

Then the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office called.

They wanted to set up a hearing. Nothing too formal, they said. Just a Q&A to get to the bottom of things.

"Are they trying to set us up?" Darell wondered.

"Of course they are," Beltran told him. "This is California. You could go to prison for defending yourself. You will not make any statement, oral or written, without me present."

Beltran informed the investigator that his clients were represented and would not be making further statements. The investigator floated an off-the-record agreement.

Eventually, the case was resolved on one condition: Darell and Doncell would complete a firearms training course.

They took an online USCCA® course. Beltran forwarded the certificates.

Case closed.

No conviction. No prison. No criminal record.

"Andy Beltran was amazing," Darell said. "And the USCCA, for $39 a month … you wouldn't drive without car insurance, own a house without insurance – even famous pianists insure their hands. You don't know the outcome of any gun situation, so you've got to have support. Joining the USCCA is the best purchase we've made in California."

The wedding happened.

It wasn't the celebration they had planned. Too much had happened in the days before. Too many people stayed away. The joy was real … but so was the weight of what had preceded it.

"We got locked up for trying to do the right thing," Doncell said. "To protect ourselves."

For Darell Daniels and Doncell Roshon-Hauser, joining the USCCA made the difference between facing that alone – and having someone in their corner.

Surviving an attack is only half the battle.

The legal fight that follows can be just as devastating to your freedom, family, and finances.

Attorney retainer:

$25k–$100k+

Expert witnesses:

$5k–$15k

(each)

Trial & bail costs:

$100k–$500k+

JOIN 860,400+ MEMBERS

When you take advantage of the education, training, and self-defense liability insurance¹ you get with your USCCA^® Membership, you'll be ready for the before, during, AND after of a deadly encounter.

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