Firearm and Assault Charges in Falmouth District Court
Criminal Charges:
Indiana resident charged in Falmouth District Court, Barnstable County, Massachusetts for:
- Discharging a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building, M.G.L. c. 269, § 12E
- Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm, M.G.L. c. 269, § 10(m)
- Possession of a Firearm without an FID Card, M.G.L. c. 269, § 10(h)
- Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card, M.G.L. c. 269, § 10(h)(1)
- Assault and Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, M.G.L. c. 265, § 13A(b)
- Assault and Battery with a Firearm, M.G.L. c. 265, § 15E
Case Overview:
Police responded to a 911 call for the report of a gunshot victim. The caller, who is both a physician’s assistant and the female victim’s significant other, was administering medical care to her when police and rescue workers arrived. The man had accidentally discharged a handgun inside his apartment. The bullet passed through both sides of the woman’s left breast and shoulder. Her injuries, though serious, were not life threatening. The man, an Indiana resident, was in Massachusetts fulfilling a contract to provide physician’s assistant services in a local hospital. He transported his firearm to the Commonwealth, both without knowledge of and clearly in violation of Massachusetts firearm laws. He fully cooperated with police by providing a statement of what occurred. He claimed he had been cleaning the weapon earlier in the day and neglected to put it away. When his girlfriend arrived, he attempted to do so, and he accidentally discharged a round he negligently left behind in the chamber. Notwithstanding the tragic and unintended consequences of this event, police arrested the man and charged him in Falmouth District Court with Discharging a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building, Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm, Possession of a Firearm without an FID Card, Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card, Assault and Battery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Assault and Battery with a Firearm. After being released on bail, the man retained Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this serious matter.
Case Result: Suspended Sentence with Probation.
Attorney Calcagni’s priority was to keep the case in District Court and avoid an indictment in Barnstable County Superior Court. Once retained in District Court, Attorney Calcagni persuaded the Commonwealth to dismiss the felony charges and allow the man to accept responsibility solely to the misdemeanor offenses, so as not to adversely impact his health care licenses that permit him to practice as a physician’s assistant. Once the agreement was in place, Attorney Calcagni presented his client before the Court to admit responsibility to the misdemeanors, and over the Commonwealth’s objection and request for jail time, resolved the case with a suspended sentence and probation. This allowed his client to avoid any prison time and still maintain his ability to practice as a licensed, physician’s assistant.