"having trouble finding a job with a misdemeanor"

Hey guys this is my first time posting here. I have been looking at getting into the trucking industry for quite some time now,i operate tractors and currently do landscaping i am self employed.i am currently having problems finding a company who will consider my application for hire after trucking school is complete.I already went and got my class A with doubles/triples,airbrake,tanker endorsment's,going for my Hazmat soon,but i need a minimum of a trucking school program 160 hours total of training to even think about being potentially hired at any major companies.i will be enrolled and attending a trucking school in sacramento CA very soon to get my 160 hrs of training complete.Here's my problem,i have sent out my application to 3 major carriers so far,Covenant transport,Schneider,swift.they have all been turned down.they said even though i have not completed school yet to give them my information so they could check me out before hand and tell me wether or not after i graduate if i might be a possable candidate for employment.a good friend of mine who drives at Covenant was even a reference but that didn't help me.i have also applied to multiple small carriers and had issues pertaining to how recent my misdemeanor is.i have 2 minor moving violations on my MVR in the last 3 years. One double yellow violation where i passed a few cars over an approved broken line then re entered over the double yellow and was cited and payed a fine.The other was a red light violation where i was on a motorcycle and i rolled slowly through a red light and was cited and payed yet another fine.that concludes my MVR record. Now i have always had a clean criminal record until 10 months ago,i bought an upper half to a gun off of craigslist and it turned out to be a stolen item.it was a sting operation selling stolen guns and gun parts being run by a local police department.here in California if you buy a gun or any gun part's they have be sold or purchased through a licensed gun dealer no matter what you also can not sell to a felon.There is a 10 day background check that must be run on the item based on serial number,then it must be signed off by an authorized dealer .The purchase/sale must also be made in an approved gun shop of your choice.So as a result of that purchase i was arrested,i then bailed out and went and got a lawyer.when my court date came i ended up pleading "no contest" and ended up being charged with a 496(a) PC which is an "unknowingly receiving stolen property" charge,the DA agreed to drop the initial charge and drop it a low level misdemeanor in the end he even allowed me to keep my gun rights.It doesn't show up as a gun charge on a background but it still looks bad because of the terminology.i was sentenced to 2 years informal probation where i don't have to report to a PO, i just can't screw up during this 2 year duration,after 2 years i can get it exponged.Now ,this all happened about 10 months ago.The mega carriers it seems tend to be very picky about any criminal charges within a 3 to 5 year duration ,so this has proven to be an extremely difficult job hunt that i have been on for a while now.I have applied at multiple local companies out here as well, but almost all of them require at least 1 to 2 years verifiable commercial driving experience for insurance reasons mostly and liability which only makes sense in this industry.Or ,again the only deterent was this 10 month old misdemeanor that made them nervous and as a result completely declined my app.a few have considered me with no experience ,but as soon as they see the misdemeanor and how recent it was they decline. I am 26 years old and i have an extensive diesel and mechanical background,as i stated above i have operated tractors for my small landscaping service since 2006,i am an extremely hard worker and i pay close attention to detail.My neighbor and good friends who works for covenant transport got me interested in truck driving and he also makes pretty good money for OTR. I am at a real loss here and i am not sure what i should do next ....I am here today to ask all you experienced truck drivers what carriers might you suggest i try and apply with who may give me a chance after trucking school is over with what i have to work with on my record? This was a long post i am really sorry about that guys...

 

Hey Gunner75 ,sorry about that i meant to put swift not western express,the guy at western truck school sent me the wrong e-mail ,i will go ahead and try Western Express then,i am on a hunt today for possible companies i should apply for.thank you for the input i really appreciate it because i am a new guy starting from the bottom and working my way up.i know i have a long way to go.thanks again man

 

@ Joseph1135, i know , it is a strange charge indeed,i realize that i was irresponsible in purchasing the upper to a gun without going through a dealer out here in California i will admit. i also had a perfectly clean record prior to all this ,so i really screwed up apparently according to California.I do take the blame for making an irresponsible purchase but i am now really paying for it. i do totally agree with Gunner75 on how bad California laws are compared to many other states,especially when it comes to the gun laws,they are extra picky and very harsh. Even though it doesn't show up as specifically as gun charge on my record it shows"unknowingly receiving stolen property "which looks very bad ,i even still have all of my gun rights with no restrictions ,the DA never tried to take them away after all that.

 

@ Powder Joint's,I really appreciate your response. I definantly screwed up that is for sure.I as an adult shouldn't have tried to go around the law. i will do just that though and apply at more of the lower level and smaller companies to see what happens. Do you know if the TSA background check will determine wether or not i can get a TWIC?, DMV said i can get my Hazmat which is a plus .i have my doubles/triples,airbrake,tanker so far.