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DA drops gun charges against Patriots player; in hindsight, says he shouldn't have been arrested for guns in his luggage at Logan
By adamg on Tue, 09/05/2023 - 6:03pm
The Suffolk County District Attorney's office today dropped criminal charges against Jack Jones, who was arrested with two guns in his luggage at Logan Airport in June, in part because Massachusetts law gives people bringing lawfully obtained guns into the state up to 60 days to obtain a license and Jones was within that period.
Jones was arrested on various gun charges after a TSA screening device picked up two guns in his carry-on luggage on his way to a flight to Los Angeles.
In a nolle prosequi filing in East Boston Municipal Court, the DA's office said it could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Jones even knew the guns were in his luggage and that in any case:
[P]ursuant to M.G.L. Section 140 Chapter 129C(j), Those exempt from having a firearm identification card include “any resident of the commonwealth returning after having been absent from the commonwealth for not less than 180 consecutive days or any new resident moving into the commonwealth, with respect to any firearm, rifle, or shotgun and any ammunition there then in his possession, for 60 days after such return or entry into the commonwealth”. The Commonwealth has been provided documentation and verified that Mr. Jones purchased both firearms lawfully in the state of Arizona and has taken steps to become a lawful gun owner in the state of Massachusetts within this 60-day period.
Still, the DA's office said in a statement, Jones agreed to:
One year of pre-trial probation, including 48 hours of community service, completed in cooperation with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, of outreach and education to youth and community organizations regarding the dangers of firearms, firearm safety and the proper handling of firearms.
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| Attachment | Size |
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 Complete nolle prosequi filing | 34.14 KB |
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Comments
Massachusetts can just stuff
Massachusetts can just stuff its gun-registration laws, when it wants to.
I don't see your point
Are you saying this was somehow arbitrary? He didn't violate the law as written, he provided documentation, what is your deal?
Is it a violation of any laws…
Is it a violation of any laws to bring firearms though the security checkpoint at an airport?
It doesn't have a point
It's a pointless troll.
I think they're just jokingly
I think they're just jokingly referencing this article lol:
https://www.universalhub.com/2023/doctor-sacrifices-career-fight-right-w...
Reading Between The Lines
He was not bringing guns into Massachusetts. They were already here and he was taking them out. So how did they get from Arizona into Massachusetts in the first place, and how long did he actually have them here without an LTC?
Sounds like he broke some law(s) somewhere. (He was reported to have been caught with a large capacity magazine - illegal in almost all cases.) Otherwise why would there be any kind of probation orders issued? So just because the DA is not pursuing the case against him any deeper doesn't mean there was no there there.
As a gun owner. Many
As a gun owner. Many beautiful guns. I love my guns.
But I should not have my guns on an airplane in my carry on. And I should trust that all other travelers are same.
Legally this is not as simple as it should be.
Typical
This state is an embarrassment.
Why not...
...just leave, then?
Going there, eh?
You're really the Love it or Leave it guy, Goldwater?
lol
It's a website, not a country, son.
At what point
At what point does bringing a gun through airport security fall under federal jurisdiction?
TSA is a civil enforcement
TSA is a civil enforcement agency and violating their rules carries possible monetary fines and denial of entry into the airport to your flight. Any criminal penalties are enforced by state and local authorities like they were here, subject to the underlying state and local laws in place at the specific airport.
60 days to become a lawful owner...
...of high-capacity magazines in Massachusetts? Do the police expect high-capacity magazines to become legal within that time? Otherwise, how is he going to manage that?
High capacity magazines are legal in MA....
If you have a license to carry....
Specifically...
...a Class A
High capacity magazines are
For post-94 magazines? Only for cops and Dealers. Mere mortals can only possess pre-94 magazines even with an LTC (another comment mentions the classes, that's not a thing anymore, there is only A now, all of the Bs should have hit renewal by now).
I guess I’m a softie who sees a win win
A black man in the early days of his very visible career is given a break. Is made into a literal cautionary tale by being sentenced to do community outreach and education on handling firearms properly in Massachusetts. Rather than a legal cautionary tale that I would have barely remembered about a month after he was sentenced to South Bay.
I don’t have to bear the cost for his incarceration. He continues to be a contributing member of society, paying more taxes than I do, on his lucrative NFL contract. His long term earnings potential, and thus tax paying potential is not substantially harmed. Unlike if he were to have to interrupt his career by at least a year or whatever.
I don’t see that he harmed anyone or that he intended to harm anyone. The legal hand waving used to make almost all of these charges go away, that’s just some top tier defense lawyering. If the basis in law is acceptable to the DA and a judge, that’s fine by me. The pretense of rule of law has been satisfied.
I know, the rich and famous getting their punishment served to them on water crackers rather than on hardtack. But we’ve never really had a system of blind justice. So this is a good outcome to me.
OK, but 48 hours?
I guess you convinced me, but 48 hours seems kind light when he was facing over 20,000 hours of incarceration.
I am proud of the fact that our common sense gun regulations in MA give us the the lowest gun death rate of any state - 6X to 8X lower than southern states! I think he should have been compelled to do at least a 1000 hours of public outreach touting how well MA regulations work and how much safer we all are because of them
wee need him this sunday
az long az hee ken get 2 saks/intersepshuns, ol charjez shood bee dropt.
Anyone dumb or dangerous
Anyone dumb or dangerous enough to bring guns to an airport should be banned from every owning guns again. Giving every turd access to as many guns as they want are why America is the laughing stock of the world when it comes to gun deaths.