Charge Will Still Stand Against Carl Rowan

Syndicated columnist Carl T. Rowan probably was told he did not have to register the house revolver he used to shoot a teen-age trespasser in his yard, the District of Columbia’s top lawyer conceded Monday, but officials refused to drop an unregistered-handgun charge against Rowan, who has said the gun belonged to his son, Carl Jr., a former FBI agent. Both Rowans have said they believed the gun did not have to be registered because Rowan Jr. was a federal agent.

The Rowans’ argument was buttressed by an Aug. 11 memo from District of Columbia corporation counsel Frederick D. Cooke Jr. to Police Chief Maurice T. Turner, noting that some police officers had erred in enforcement of the district’s handgun-registration law. Rowan’s trial has been set for Sept. 22.