Clerk-Magistrate Hearing for Unlicensed Possession of Large Capacity Firearm: Dismissed

Police received a 911 emergency call that a suicidal man overdosed on drugs inside of his home.  Rescue workers first arrived on scene to render emergency aid and transport the man to the hospital.   Police arrived moments later and during a visual inspection inside the man’s home, observed in plain view a large capacity handgun.  Police seized the weapon.

Once the man recovered and was discharged from the hospital, police served him with a summons to appear for a Clerk-Magistrate’s Hearing in New Bedford District Court.   The purpose of the hearing was to determine if probable cause existed to issue a criminal complaint against the man for Unlicensed Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm under Massachusetts law.

The man retained Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him at this hearing.  Attorney Calcagni obtained evidence of his client’s military service, mental health and substance abuse treatment at the VA, and proof that the firearm was lawfully purchased out-of-state years earlier when the man was assigned on active duty in the U.S. Army.   Based on these collective factors, Attorney Calcagni successfully persuaded the Clerk-Magistrate both to not issue the criminal complaint against his client and to dismiss the matter outright.