A Sykesville man who was placed on probation after pleading guilty in June to charges of beating his 15-year-old daughter won permission yesterday to use a firearm for recreational purposes.
William Howard Poole, 46, of the 4800 block of Woodbine Road, asked Carroll Circuit Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. to dismiss one of the conditions of probation that prohibits his possessing, carrying or using a firearm.
Mr. Poole was given probation before judgment on the charges of battery and resisting arrest and placed on three years of probation. The last two years of probation were ordered to be unsupervised.
In an Oct. 2 letter to Judge Beck, Mr. Poole wrote that he is a gun collector and longtime member of the Carroll County Gun Club and a past board member of that organization. He told the judge that gunsmithing is his hobby and "only source of recreation."
He said he wanted the court's permission while on probation to participate in competitive club-sanctioned matches, shooting trap and skeet clay targets.
Judge Beck granted the man's request yesterday, noting that the man did not use a weapon in the Dec. 14, 1994, assault.
Soon after the incident, Mr. Poole wrote to apologize to two state police officers. In that letter, he said he had been drinking heavily and was sorry that he had assaulted his daughter and the troopers who came to intervene.
The girl, now 16, no longer lives with her father.
