expired ltc A

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emil02

I have a friend that had an accidental 911 call at his house, the police go through the house and notice that he had a rifle on his floor in his bedroom, they ask if he had any guns, he told them that he was just cleaning one in his room but his license was expired, they ended up taking his guns to the station and told him to renew his license and four days later he had got a paper in the mail with four felony charges can somebody give any advice on this.
 
Yeah - get a lawyer and make no further statements to the police until getting instructions from him/her.
 
Expired LTC can make a big difference on chages

Also...

He needs a lawyer who is willing to aggressively defend gun cases and is familiar with the provisions of MGL Chapter 140 Section 131m that would appear to cover this case (assuming the case is as simple as you explain and there was no license revocation, denial of renewal, or offense that would have disqualified him from renewal).

This abuse should also be reported to GOAL but, as with all discussion of the case prior to resolution, this should only be done on the advice of counsel.

With a bit of luck, a good defense attorney will be able to negotiate a civil settlement on the low end and dropping of the felony charges which, unfortunately, this hapless soul will be explaining at renewal time for the rest of his life.

Please post a follow-up with details including the town once the matter has been resolved.

The relevant section of MGL:

Ch 140 Section 131m

(m) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10 of chapter 269, any person in possession of a firearm, rifle or shotgun whose license issued under this section is invalid for the sole reason that it has expired, meaning after 90 days beyond the stated expiration date on the license, but who shall not be disqualified from renewal upon application therefor under this section, shall be subject to a civil fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000 and the provisions of section 10 of chapter 269 shall not apply; provided, however, that the exemption from the provisions of said section 10 of said chapter 269 provided herein shall not apply if: (i)such license has been revoked or suspended, unless such revocation or suspension was caused by failure to give notice of a change of address as required under this section; (ii) revocation or suspension of such license is pending, unless such revocation or suspension was caused by failure to give notice of a change of address as required under this section; or (iii) an application for renewal of such license has been denied. Any law enforcement officer who discovers a person to be in possession of a firearm, rifle or shotgun after such person’s license has expired, meaning after 90 days beyond the stated expiration date on the license, has been revoked or suspended, solely for failure to give notice of a change of address, shall confiscate such firearm, rifle or shotgun and the expired or suspended license then in possession and such officer, shall forward such license to the licensing authority by whom it was issued as soon as practicable. The officer shall, at the time of confiscation, provide to the person whose firearm, rifle or shotgun has been confiscated, a written inventory and receipt for all firearms, rifles or shotguns confiscated and the officer and his employer shall exercise due care in the handling, holding and storage of these items. Any confiscated weapon shall be returned to the owner upon the renewal or reinstatement of such expired or suspended license within one year of such confiscation or may be otherwise disposed of in accordance with the provisions of section 129D. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply if such person has a valid license to carry firearms issued under section 131F.
 
I have a friend that had an accidental 911 call at his house, the police go through the house and notice that he had a rifle on his floor in his bedroom, they ask if he had any guns, he told them that he was just cleaning one in his room but his license was expired, they ended up taking his guns to the station and told him to renew his license and four days later he had got a paper in the mail with four felony charges can somebody give any advice on this.
Just so I understand this:
He was home when they arrived and he let them in to search?
Or did he leave before they arrived and they forced entry to check?
 
An accidental 911 call ?

When I was a 911 dispatcher,a 911 hangup would result in a call back to the house.if no-one answers you send an officer for a 911 hangup.Using my limited experience,I kind of think your friends words that cut his own throat were:

"No,come in and look around".

Why did the police see a weapon on the floor,then ask if he had any weapons ?

Why are the police "going through the house" ?

Need more info...
 
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As has already been suggested, your friend needs to do two things: 1) hire a good attorney and 2) shut up.
 
This should serve as a perfect example/warning for those that say "who's going to know"?... "There's no way I can get caught". ... etc.

"Accidental" incidents like that are not that uncommon. I've seen it happen a few times involving drugs, and once involving a firearm.
 
This should serve as a perfect example/warning for those that say "who's going to know"?... "There's no way I can get caught". ... etc.

"Accidental" incidents like that are not that uncommon. I've seen it happen a few times involving drugs, and once involving a firearm.
+1

Here's a story that I heard recently happened in my town.

An older gentleman had a number of guns. He didn't have them locked up. He had some work done inside his house (painting, etc.). A couple weeks after the work was done, someone broke in and stole the guns.

The owner dutifully reported the break-in to the police. They decided against prosecuting him for unsafe storage, but did decide that he is now "unsuitable" and revoked his LTC.
 
This should serve as a perfect example/warning for those that say "who's going to know"?... "There's no way I can get caught". ... etc.

"Accidental" incidents like that are not that uncommon. I've seen it happen a few times involving drugs, and once involving a firearm.

Exigent circumstances in this state can lead to a world of shit, that's for
sure. I've heard of more than one tale of woe caused by exigency with the
end result being either lost guns or revoked LTC or both.


-Mike
 
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