Firearm Offenses

Massachusetts has some of the strictest firearms laws in the country. A person convicted of gun charges in the Commonwealth can face lengthy mandatory minimum sentences in the house of correction or state prison. Similarly, federal firearms offenses often carry their own significant sentences. Because of the potential consequences involved in firearms cases, a person charged with a gun offense must make every reasonable effort to avoid conviction.

Boston Firearms Attorney David J. Grimaldi has extensive experience defending individuals accused of gun crimes. He has won not guilty verdicts at trial on charges including carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a loaded firearm, and possession of ammunition without an FID card. Attorney Grimaldi has also won acquittals at trial on charges including assault with a dangerous weapon (a firearm) and unlawful possession of a firearm as a second offense. If you are charged with a firearm offense, you absolutely need a successful criminal defense attorney to represent you in court.

Oftentimes, a central issue in a firearms case will be whether the police violated the client’s constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures when they obtained the firearm from the client. For example, did the police obtain a search warrant before they searched the client’s car or home? If they did, a successful firearms attorney might challenge the sufficiency of the evidence presented to the court in support of the warrant, or even contest the truth of the claims made in the police officer’s affidavit. If the judge agrees that the warrant issued without enough supporting evidence, or based on unreliable information, he or she can suppress or “throw out” the evidence so it cannot be used in court.

In cases where the police failed to apply for a search warrant before obtaining the gun, an effective firearms attorney might challenge the search and seizure as unreasonable and without legal justification. Suppression of the evidence is also possible in these kinds of warrantless searches. Every firearm case is different, and your criminal defense lawyer must know how to challenge different police practices in order to achieve victory in your particular case.

Boston Firearms Attorney David J. Grimaldi is a proven success in challenging police search and seizure practices in firearms cases. After considering Attorney Grimaldi’s arguments, judges have agreed to suppress many kinds of firearm evidence against his clients, including sawed-off shotguns, large capacity ammunition clips, and semi-automatic handguns. By winning these motions to suppress, the prosecutor was precluded from using the evidence at trial. As a result, the cases were dismissed.

Firearms law is often changing, and a successful gun offense attorney must be up-to-date on law concerning the second amendment, municipal stop-and-frisk policies, and the various methods prosecutors use to try to obtain enhanced penalties in gun cases. Prior criminal records, even for relatively minor offenses, are a common way for prosecutors to seek to increase criminal penalties in firearms cases. Attorney Grimaldi has successfully moved to dismiss firearms charges, including Armed Career Criminal (ACC) sentencing enhancements, by staying on the cutting edge of legal developments in criminal law.

The significant consequences attached to firearms convictions require the best criminal defense representation possible. You cannot afford to lose your firearm case. If you or a loved one is charged with a firearm offense, contact Attorney David J. Grimaldi today at (617) 661-1529 or online today.