LEGAL EMERGENCY IN NORTHAMPTON, PLEASE HELP!

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atek3

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Hi, my friend from college was driving through Northampton,MA and was pulled over, long story short, he was charged with four counts of possession of an unregistered weapon.

He's got an arraignment tomorrow and needs a good lawyer badly.

I don't know much about Mass. except that the gun laws are strict.

Please, if you have a recommendation let me know ASAP.

This guy is not a criminal...


Thanks,
atek3
 
http://www.attorneycohen.com/ and Darius Arbabi are in Framingham and specialize in firearms. They are the best but tell him to say nothing and call any attorney to get him through the arraignment and these guys can take over if you can't get in touch with them tonight.
 
I called McKenna to take care of the arraignment tomorrow and I put him in touch with cohen for the actual case.

Thanks a ton.

atek3
 
http://www.gazettenet.com/story/191334

Monday, June 30, 2008

NORTHAMPTON - A New Hampshire man stopped by state police on Interstate 91 this weekend denied several weapons charges Monday.

Ryle W. Goodrich, 30, of West Lebanon, was arrested about 11 a.m. Sunday near exit 22 on the northbound lane of the highway. Troopers found three rifles and a shotgun in the back seat of his car, according to a report included in court files.

None of the weapons was loaded, though there was ammunition in the trunk, the report states.

Trooper Eric F. French pulled Goodrich over after spotting him driving 87 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to the trooper's report. On walking to the car to speak with its driver, French wrote, he immediately saw the muzzle of one of the rifles.

French was concerned for his safety, he wrote, and so took Goodrich out of the car, placed him in handcuffs and sat him in the back of his cruiser while he waited for backup.

According to French's report, the weapons included: a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge shotgun, a Century International 7.62x39 rifle, a Hi-Point Firearms Beemiller Model 995 9mm rifle and a Marlins Firearms .22-caliber rifle.

Troopers also found 40 boxes of 7.62mm ammunition, 13 .22-caliber rounds and two 12-guage shells in the trunk, according to French's report.

Goodrich told investigators he had moved out of his home June 15, and had kept the guns in his car since then because a moving company refused to transport them.

Monday in Northampton District Court, Goodrich pleaded innocent to four counts of improper storage of a firearm, four counts of possessing a firearm without a permit, one count of possessing ammunition without a permit, and charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and speeding.

He posted $1,000 cash bail, and is scheduled to return to court Aug. 14 for a pretrial conference.

James F. Lowe can be reached at [email protected].
 
Trooper Eric F. French pulled Goodrich over after spotting him driving 87 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to the trooper's report.
Click to expand...

Somebody please notice me!
 
Rob Boudrie said:
four counts of improper storage of a firearm, four counts of possessing a firearm without a permit, one count of possessing ammunition without a permit, and charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and speeding.
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Ok, that makes more sense. I couldn't figure out how he could have been charged with "possession of an unregistered weapon".

Sounds like he's not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree. But he should be able to get off on some of those charges. The improper storage charge should go, as 131C doesn't apply to non LTC holders. He is likely to be screwed on the possession without a permit. 129C(h) would normally save him, but he didn't have them in a case so he loses. 129(h) should save him from the possession of ammo without a permit, though. I'm suspecting the "Century International 7.62x39 rifle" is an AK, and he may likely still get an AWB charge added to his problems. Unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and speeding while doing it is just plain retarded...
 
This guy is not a criminal...
Click to expand...
If the news reports are correct, the driver made a decision to drive without a valid license - which does indeed make him a criminal, irrespective of anything having to do with the gun issue. Or is it somehow possible that he did not know he did not have a valid driver's license?
 
Goodrich told investigators he had moved out of his home June 15, and had kept the guns in his car since then because a moving company refused to transport them.
Click to expand...
So why not just drive them to the new place yourself instead of leaving them in the back seat for 2 weeks? Did he move to MA or another place in NH? I mean, if you have a place to sleep there's really no reason to be driving around with your collection in the backseat. Not the crime of the century but you wind up getting press like this which doesn't help any of us.

Definitely some idiot factors here, (a) not being painfully aware that MA is not gun friendly, (b) keeping the ammo locked up in the trunk but not having the sense to keep the guns there too (then they wouldn't have been in plain sight and the guy probably just would have got a ticket), (c) driving around with no license, (d) driving close to 90 MPH with no license in MA with guns in the back seat.

Absurdity of Mass laws aside, there's always someone who insists on pushing the door that says "Pull".
 
If the report is true......

I just don't get it. If you don't have a driver's license why would you be driving first off and then to boot doing 22mph over the speed limit?

If there was ever a time I came close to driving the speed limit it would be when I was transporting firearms. Not that it would have been that big of a deal as I HAVE A DRIVER'S LICENSE and and LTC and my stuff was always locked in the trunk unless I had a carry piece.

No driver's license and speeding + no firearm's license and firearms = no driver's license for maybe 5 years and no firearm's license ever.

Maybe the best a good lawyer can do is keep him out of jail. That in and of itself will be a victory.
 
jar said:
I figured you'd file it under money in the bank. [laugh]
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Not for him.
readthethread.gif


Jesse Cohen's getting the case.
 
If he had kept the rifles in the trunk out of view, he likely would only be facing vehicle civil infractions- not really a big deal in the whole scheme of things. Basically by keeping the things in his trunk he gave the police a noose to hang him with. Whenver transiting anti states, ones vehicle should be "4th amendment proof". (eg,
your items should be stored in such a way that a LEO would have to perform an illegal search in order to find
them. ) It also helps to have a valid driver's license to make any vehicle stops as short and uncomplicated as
possible. [laugh]

Of course, mind you, in any "normal" state, (read, the upper half of new england and most of the rest of the US, minus about 10 states or so) he probably wouldn't be facing ANY gun charges. [rolleyes] While the guy here might not have been the brightest bulb, the fact that there are gun charges at all only further illustrates the insanity of MA gun laws.

-Mike
 
The merits of MA gun laws have been beaten to death, I think we're all in agreement on how idiotic they are.

However, that said, I can understand why the officer might feel for his own safety after pulling over a vehicle driven recklessly by someone with no license, obviously little in the way of brains, and a couple of rifles including an AK. Change the driver to an illegal, and there'd be universal outrage here if he hadn't been arrested. Like Scriv said, this guy obviously wasn't very bright.
 
they would have found them anyways they would have searched the car after he was arrested for driving without a licence don't know if having them in the trunk would make a difference or not
 
MSP does not always arrest for operating W/O a Lic, Oper under suspension etc. Many times they'll just summons. If an arrest was going to happen and the vehicle towed, an inventory search would have been performed which includes the contents of the trunk.
 
Good news... he plead down to improper storage. $500 fine. If he keeps his nose clean for 6 months the record is swept clean.

atek3
 
jdubois said:
Interesting, considering that's one of the charges that I doubted would stick. Still, better for him than ending up with one of the other, worse charges of which he was actually guilty.
Click to expand...

Isn't that one of the charges tacked on so at least they can plead out to something? The prosecutor gets one in the win column, the defendant gets out of any serious penalty.
 
But id he did move to Mass and then applies for a permit, doesn't HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ARRESTED show it's ugly face? Isn;t this enough to disquilify in most towns in Mass?
 

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