Articles Posted in Gun/Firearms Crimes

A 14 year old Boston high school student was arrested this morning on Massachusetts Gun Crimes Charges after he allegedly brought a loaded handgun to West Roxbury High School.

The 9th grade student was charged in West Roxbury Juvenile Court this morning on charges including Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition and Unlawful Possession of a Loaded Firearm.

The Boston high school student was arrested at the West Roxbury Education Complex this morning by Boston School Police when he allegedly tried to avoid the metal detector when entering the school.

Orlando Kavanaugh, 28 from Boston, was arraigned in Brockton’s Plymouth County Superior Court on several Massachusetts Crimes of Violence Charges and Gun Crimes in connection with the death of Tina Gonsalves.

Kavanaugh has been charged with First Degree Murder; Armed Home Invasion; Armed Assault to Murder; Assault with a Dangerous Weapon; Unlawful Possession of a Firearm; and Unlawful Possession of Ammunition.

According to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, Orlando Kavanaugh allegedly broke into Tina Gonsalves’ Rockland apartment by breaking a window and then unlocking the back door. At some point during the unlawful entry, Gonsalves reportedly confronted and struggled with Kavanaugh, during which the handgun Kavanaugh allegedly was carrying went off, striking Gonsalves in the stomach. She later died of her wound at a Weymouth Hospital.

Tyre Wade, 19, was arrested this past week and charged with Massachusetts Gun Crimes Charges for allegedly carrying and shooting at Boston Police Officers. He was charged with Assault & Battery with a Dangerous Weapon, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, and Unlawful Possession of Ammunition.

According to the Boston Police Department, officers were in Roxbury this past week looking for what they described as “gang members known to have outstanding warrants.” At a residence on Slayton Way, police came across several individuals, who allegedly fled upon the arrival of police officers.

One of the men, Tyre Wade, allegedly reached into his waist and pulled out a gun, which then discharged. He was eventually taken in custody and was subsequently arraigned in the Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court on Gun Charges.

Ashawda Nelson, 19, and Noccokawon Pledger-Grant, 21, both of Dorchester, were arrested this past week on Massachusetts Gun Charges following a ‘shots fired’ report. Both men where charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Carrying a Loaded Firearm, and Discharging a Firearm with 500 feet of a Dwelling.

According to the Boston Police Department, officers responded to the area of Auckland Street in Dorchester on a report of shots having been fired. The two men were reportedly observed running in the direction of the Savin Hill MBTA Station when they were apprehended. During a search of one of the men, a firearm was allegedly recovered on his person.

Despite that a gun was reportedly seized from one of the men, this strength of the prosecutions case against these men will rise and fall on whether the officers had sufficient probable to immediately arrest these men. In similar types of cases, the police will inevitably rely on witness reports and the purported identification of the men. In circumstances where the description of the purported suspects is in question, the defense may have ample grounds to challenge the constitutionality of their arrest by litigating a Motion to Suppress Evidence.

Junior Fernandes, 22, of Boston’s Dorchester section, was arraigned on Monday on Massachusetts Murder Charges and Gun Charges following the shooting death of his girlfriend, Alessa Castellon, last Sunday night.

Fernandes has been charged with First Degree Murder, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Unlawful Possession of a Loaded Firearm.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Junior Fernandes allegedly shot Alessa Castellon early Monday morning after the two got into an argument outside his sister’s apartment on Granger Street in Dorchester.

Robert M. MacCormack, 32, of West Roxbury, was arrested on Massachusetts Gun Crimes Charges this past weekend after he allegedly pulled out a gun on a food delivery driver. MacCormack was arrested on gun crimes including Assault With a Dangerous Weapon and Improper Storage of a Firearm.

According to the Boston Police Department, police officers were approached by a delivery driver who said Robert MacCormack allegedly pulled out a gun on him as he was driving down Pender Street in West Roxbury. According to the driver, MacCormack allegedly pulled up to him after his delivery and questioned why he was driving down the street in a reckless manner. The driver alleges that he was threatened at this point by MacCormack allegedly pointing a gun at him.

Boston Police Officers who responded to the incident reported that Robert MacCormack is licensed to carry a firearm and arrested him. A search of MacCormack’s house also yielded in the seizure of three guns and several rounds of ammunition.

John E. Cassidy, 26, a student at UMass Dartmouth Law School, was arrested on Massachusetts Gun Crimes Charges after he allegedly assaulted his roommate in North Dartmouth. Cassidy was arraigned on several charges, including Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, Unlawful Possession of a High Capacity Firearm, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.

According to Dartmouth Police, police had received an ‘anonymous tip’ that John E. Cassidy illegally possessed guns in his apartment and had allegedly assaulted his roommate.

The roommate reportedly told police that Cassidy had assaulted him with a handgun, and that after the assault, he fled to Worcester because he was scared of Cassidy. He later returned to Dartmouth and reported the incident to Dartmouth Police.

Michael Wiggins, 18, and Lamar Brison, 20, were both arraigned this morning on Massachusetts Gun & Crimes of Violence Charges in connection with a shooting that left two people hospitalized. Each were charges with several Gun Crimes, including Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Assault & Battery and Intimidation of a Witness.

According to the Boston Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, two men were shot in Dorchester’s Codman Square on Monday at around 9:00 p.m. Both men were taken to Boston area hospitals with gun shot injuries that were reportedly non-life-threatening.

Later that night, Boston Police Officers were called to Boston’s Carney Hospital where one of the gunshot victims was being treated to receive a report from a purported witness of the shootings. The unidentified woman told police that she had witnesses the shootings and thereafter was allegedly beat by Wiggins and Brison and threatened not to report what she had seen.