Firearm Charges Dropped - Attorney Steven J. Topazio
HomeFirearm Charges Dropped

Firearm Charges Dropped

The client was arrested for carrying a firearm without being properly licensed in Massachusetts after passing a backpack through a metal detector at Logan Airport in Boston which contained a loaded firearm.  Carrying a firearm in violation to MGL c. 269 § 10(a) 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. The sentence imposed on such person shall not be reduced to less than 18 months, nor suspended, nor shall any person convicted under this subsection be eligible for probation, parole, work release, or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct until he shall have served 18 months of such sentence.  The client in this case had moved from Nevada to Massachusetts and had all his possessions shipped to the Commonwealth.  The client’s father lives in New Hampshire which does not require a license to carry and is an open carry state.  The client transported his firearms to his father in New Hampshire for safe keeping while the client established himself in Massachusetts.  Attorney Topazio learned that the firearm in this case which was stored in a backpack was inadvertently overlooked by his client and believed to be in New Hampshire.  Attorney Topazio learned that his client had a valid license to carry a firearm in the States of Utah, Florida, and Nevada.  Attorney Topazio pointed out to the prosecution that thirty-six (36) states grant reciprocity to and accept the Utah License to Carry; thirty-one (31) states grant reciprocity to and accept the Nevada License to Carry, and thirty-six (36) states grant reciprocity to and accept the Florida License to Carry.  There are a total of forty (40) states that are covered by all three (3) licenses to carry which means the client could lawfully carry a firearm in 40 out of the 50 states in the United States.  Massachusetts unfortunately, is not one of the forty (40) states that grants reciprocity to or accepts the Utah, Florida or Nevada Licenses to Carry.  Nevertheless, Attorney Topazio was successful in persuading the prosecution to drop the charges and to give his client pretrial probation thus avoiding a trial and a potentially committed jail sentence under these circumstances.