Weapons Charges/Gun Possession

Massachusetts Weapons Attorney

Have you been charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm or other deadly weapon in Massachusetts?

Contact a Boston Gun Lawyer - Criminal Defense Attorney Steven J. Topazio

If you or someone you know has been arrested for any weapon-related crime or gun charge in Massachusetts, it is crucial that you contact an experienced Weapons Defense Lawyer as soon as possible.

Carrying a Firearm

If you are accused of carrying a gun or an unlawful weapon, you are facing serious consequences. In Suffolk and surrounding counties, prosecutors aggressively prosecute criminal activities involving firearms, since crimes involving firearms carry mandatory sentencing. Thus, few plea bargains are offered for cases involving the illegal carrying of a firearm. This makes it extremely important to promptly retain an experienced criminal defense lawyer once you are accused of carrying a firearm or other dangerous weapon violation.

Illegal weapons in Massachusetts can include:

Handgun/Pistol/ Revolvers

Antique Firearm

Sawed-Off Shotgun

Knives/Switchblades

Batons/Billy Clubs

Automatic Firearms

Massachusetts Laws

MGL c.140, s.121 Definitions of Firearm Types

MGL c.140, s.129C Non-Residents Carrying Firearms: Rifle or Shotgun

MGL c.140, s.131 License to Carry: Class A or B - Resident

MGL c.140, s.131F License to Carry: Class A or B - Non-Resident

MGL c.140, s.131G Non-Residents Carrying Firearms: Pistol or Revolver

MGL c.140 s.131K Firearm Safety Devices

MGL c.140 s.131L Storage of Weapons

MGL c. 140 s. 131P Firearms Safety Training

MGL c.269, s.10. Carrying dangerous weapons; possession of machine gun or sawed-off shotguns; possession of large capacity weapon or large capacity feeding device; punishment. Subsection (j) prohibits carrying a weapon on the grounds of a school or university.

Selected Case Law

Commonwealth v. Fettes, 64 Mass.App.Ct. 917 (2005). A dog can be a dangerous weapon. "A dangerous weapon is 'any instrument or instrumentality so constructed or so used as to be likely to produce death or great bodily harm.' Commonwealth v. Farrell, 322 Mass. 606, 614-615 (1948). See also Anderson, Wharton's Criminal Law and Procedure, § 361. There can be little doubt that a dog . . . used for the purpose of intimidation or attack falls within this definition." Commonwealth v. Tarrant, 2 Mass. App. Ct. 483, 486 (1974)."

Commonwealth v. Runyan, 456 Mass. 230 (2010). Trigger locks or locked containers can be required. The Second Amendment is not incorporated under the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of substantive due process and therefore does not apply to the States. Further, the General Laws c. 140, § 131L (a) can be distinguished from the law ruled unconstitutional in Heller, because "an individual with a valid firearms identification card issued under G. L. c. 140, § 129C, is not obliged to secure or render inoperable a firearm while the individual carries it or while it remains otherwise under the individual's control...; the statute therefore does not make it impossible for those persons licensed to possess firearms to rely on them for lawful self-defense."

District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 US __, 128 S.Ct. 2783 (June 26, 2008). "The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home."

Mandatory Sentences

Stakes are high in any criminal matter. This is especially true in gun cases, where mandatory minimum sentences may remove any opportunity to negotiate a plea bargain with a prosecutor or judge. Careers are often derailed or ruined when a weapons charge results in a mandatory prison sentence.

Unlawful Possession

Other weapons charges focus on the weapon itself such as owning a handgun without a permit, possessing an unlicensed gun, failing to follow gun sales regulations, possessing a machine gun or assault weapon, or unlawful possession of a fake or imitation handgun with intention to use it illegally.

Defense

Was the gun discovered by the police as a result of an illegal search? Seek the most aggressive criminal defense attorney you can find if you have been charged with a weapons crime of any type. Even though a citizen of the Commonwealth can lawfully obtain a permit to possess a firearm, there are still a number of restrictions about when and where you can carry a gun. From knives and switchblades to guns and other firearms, there are serious consequences for weapons crimes, including jail time and the loss of gun rights.

Comprehensive Investigation and Case-Building

Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Steven J. Topazio is prepared to investigate every aspect of the allegations and circumstances of your case, in order to identify the right strategy and build an aggressive defense on your behalf. Contact Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Topazio online or call 617-422-5803 to discuss your case.

RECENT CASE DECISIONS

October 26, 2009
Suffolk Superior Court
SUCR2007-10889

Trafficking in Cocaine M.G.L. c. 94C § 32E(b)
School Zone Violation M.G.L. c. 94C § 32J
Possessing a Firearm Without an FID Card M.G.L. c. 269 § 10(h)
Possessing a Firearm Without an FID Card M.G.L. c. 269 § 10(h)

The defendant was arrested after Massachusetts State Police executed a search warrant for his home which alleged, among other things, that the police received information from a confidential informant that the defendant was selling Cocaine from his home. During the execution of the warrant, the police found a large sum of money, cocaine, a firearm and ammunition. The defendant, who was facing mandatory jail time, hired Attorney Topazio to defend him. Attorney Topazio filed a Motion to Suppress along with a Memorandum of Law attacking the legality of the search warrant, knowing that if the search was unconstitutional, then the evidence would be excluded and the Commonwealth would have no case. Attorney Topazio argued that where information from a confidential informant is relied upon to supply probable cause to obtain a search warrant, Article 14 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights requires that the affidavit apprise the magistrate (who decides whether to issue the search warrant) of sufficient facts and circumstances to establish both: "(1) the basis of the informant's knowledge, and (2) the credibility of the informant or the reliability of his information. Commonwealth v. O'Day, 440 Mass. 296, 301 (2003); Commonwealth v. Upton, 394 Mass. 363 (1985); Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410 (1969); Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108 (1964). In Massachusetts, the first prong, or the "basis of knowledge test," may be satisfied by evidence that "the informant had personally purchased drugs from the defendant." Such "direct knowledge" maybe inferred where the level of detail in the informant's tip regarding the identity of the seller and the drug-selling operation is "consistent with personal observation, not mere recitation of a casual rumor." The second prong, or the "veracity test," is commonly satisfied by reference in the affidavit to such factors as: the informant's successful track record of providing information to the police; the ability of the police to locate and contact the informant despite his/her anonymity in the affidavit; and the informant's recitation of "precise," "unique" and "predictive" detail. Today, Attorney Topazio convinced the District Attorney to place the trafficking charge on file, dismiss the school zone charge, and to accept a 2 year suspended sentence on the firearm's charge, and the Court agreed.

Result: School zone and possession of ammunition charges dismissed; trafficking in cocaine charge placed on file and defendant receives a two year suspended sentence on the possession of a firearm charge, thus avoiding mandatory jail time altogether.

December 17, 2008
Boston Municipal Court
0701JC7987

Possession of a firearm, M.G.L. c. 269 § 10(a)

The defendant was taken into custody on November 4, 2007, by Boston Police for questioning. While the defendant was in police custody, Boston Police searched his home and found a firearm secreted in a dirty white sock inside a barbecue grill located on the first floor back porch. The defendant was arrested for possession of a firearm. Possessing a firearm without a valid license is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years, or for not less than 18 months nor more than two and one-half years in a jail or house of correction. As a result to the search, Attorney Topazio who represented the defendant, moved to suppress all observations made of the defendant, all statements made by him, all evidence of every name, nature and description, whether tangible or intangible, seized from his person or his residence, including but not limited to the firearm, during a warrantless search by members of the Boston Police on November 4, 2007. After a lengthy suppression hearing, the Court denied the defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. After the court ruled against the defendant on his motion to suppress, Attorney Topazio marked the case for trial. Today, at trial, Attorney Topazio was successful in getting the Court to dismiss the gun charges against his client.

Result: Case dismissed at trial and defendant avoids a mandatory 18 month jail sentence.

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Steven J. Topazio - Attorney At Law

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Criminal Defense

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Weapons Charges/Gun Possession