Hey, there! Log in / Register
Police: 14-year-old on scooter arrested with high-capacity gun
By adamg on Sun, 03/22/2015 - 7:15pm
Boston Police report officers on patrol yesterday evening spotted two kids on a scooter without helmets going the wrong way down the one-way Johnston Road in Dorchester:
As a result, officers conducted a stop of the scooter. While approaching the scooter, officers instructed both the operator and his passenger to dismount. However, before the passenger could get off the scooter, officers immediately noted the passenger clutching at his waist area in such a way as if to indicate the presence of a weapon. When asked about the object in his possession, the suspect lifted his sweatshirt to reveal a firearm (a Smith & Wesson Walther P22) tucked into his waist area. Officers quickly moved in, cuffed the suspect and took possession of the gun. When asked how old he was, the suspect stated, "I'm 14."
The teen, too young to have his name released, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a firearm on a public way, possession of a firearm with altered/obliterated serial numbers and unlawful possession of a high-capacity firearm.
Johnston Road is about two blocks from where Juanly Pena, then 14, shot his brother to death in Feburary, 2014.
Earlier:
Police: 14-year-old with loaded gun in his waistband arrested, 1/3/15.
Ad:
Support Universal Hub
Help keep Universal Hub going. If you like what we're up to and want to help out, please consider a (completely non-deductible) contribution.
Comments
Couple semantics
I realize it's beside the point, but 'high power' and 'high capacity' are different things.
That said, Mass gun laws are all but indecipherable. I'm certainly no expert, but Capacity is generally how many rounds in the magazine (this model is 10) where power is.... I don't think there is a formal definition for 'high power', but .22 ain't it. Someone with more expertise here is welcome to correct me if I mis-spoke.
And no, the bigger points aren't lost on me here. Very glad the kids cops got them.
Headline changed
BPD wrote "high capacity" and I changed that to "high powered" in the headline. I've fixed that.
Point of order
According to MA law, a "high capacity firearm" doesn't refer to the capacity of a magazine found with the firearm itself, but rather whether a high capacity magazine was ever made for that model anywhere. So while the P22 comes standard with a 10-round magazine, large-capacity magazines for that model do exist in the world, which means that any legal owner in MA would need a Class A permit to own a P22, even if they only had the stock magazine.
Oddly enough, the Browning Hi-Power was named that because it originally came with a 13-round magazine, which was greater than other semi-automatic pistols of the 1930s, even though they fired the same round. Not confusing at all.
Thanks Wiffleball
I guess they can be deciphered, but it's not easy. I appreciate the clarifications.
I suppose it"s a stupid question to ask
but where the hell are all these kids getting these guns? Who gave that 14 yr old kid a gun? And what did he tell that 14 yr old kid to do with it?
I won't ask why that 14 yr old was known to the criminals that gave him the gun or why he didn't have a family that protected him from criminals that would give him guns with orders about what to do with them.
But the gun violence in the gun violent neighborhoods of Boston is their problem. If they don't deal with it, it won't be dealt with. Nobody else can do it.
Great question
I'm sure it's not an easy thing to investigate, but I would love to see just one investigation into the source of one of these kids' guns. A lot of them are old rusty revolver, but I think this model is new and modern. Are they coming from out of state? Stolen in house or car-breaks?
Same place from which all the
Same place from which all the heroin is coming from, that's where. Also, most of these guns are stolen or obtained by some other ill gotten method. Finding the source of the gun providers is a hell of a lot trickier and more expensive than we think.
Yeah
Particularly, because once you catch someone with one, he/she immediately has the right to not speak to incriminate himself/herself. So, you cannot force anyone with an illegal gun to reveal where that weapon came from and most people won't give this up voluntarily.
Stolen and distributed by the
Stolen and distributed by the same dirtbags running drugs across the country. Drug trafficking and arms trafficking stick together like peanut butter and jelly.
I've heard
there's such a thing as "community weapons" kept in some semi-plain sight hidey hole that anyone who is informed of the location of the hidey hole can use and then return.
Like the library, or Zipcar.
well at least they follow a
well at least they follow a sustainable model
preface: this is conjecture
Probably stolen from out of state. The photo BPD posted is an M&P .22 - hardly one of those rusted old pieces that looks like it washed up on the beach. It has an external safety, which -- I could be wrong here -- is not a feature on the Massachusetts compliant version of the M&P.
Wait...
When did the cops start stopping underage helmetless people riding motor scooters and dirt bikes the wrong way, on sidewalks, through parks, cutting through private property, etc.?
Makes me think the police recognized someone and the wrong-way violation was probable cause for a stop. I mean, which is fine, but BPD is making it look like they care about safe operation of such vehicles, which clearly isn't the case.
We've been trying for years to get them to enforce this in our neighborhood. The few times we've even gotten someone to come out, they've just watched. Said nothing unsafe was currently happening. Didn't seem to care that the vehicles weren't street legal, violate the noise ordinance, weren't stopping at stop signs or using signals or anything. Many many many reasons to pull them over and impound the stupid things, but nope.
The teen ... was charged with
But OMG we can't release his name to the public. In a word, pathetic.
Please do explain
Why do you need to know? What, exactly, would you do with this information?
Are you going to burn down his house or something?
To keep away from a dangerous person?
For one's personal safety. That sort of thing. Burning down the house of an armed criminal would be the opposite of staying safe. Somebody carrying a loaded gun is dangerous no matter how young.
Don't worry
In 2 years, he'll drive a car instead of a scooter and you can stop being concerned for his safety.
OK
Suppose the suspect lives in your neighborhood, or even hangs out with your kids. Wouldn't you want to know that this person's been charged with serious crimes?
And if it's so important to protect a "juvenile" suspect, then please do explain why it is important to know the name of ANY suspect who has not been found guilty of crimes they are charged with, regardless of their age.
Sorry, but the decision whether or not to name a suspect should be based on the severity of the crimes they are charged with, period!
Suspect
Not convicted.
Also, there are some other things you miss here:
1. names are not unique
2. schools are notified of these arrests
3. within communities, word of this sort of thing spreads quite well
4. plenty of kids who are packing have not yet been caught
In other words, publishing the name of a teen (or any suspect for that matter) is a "devil you know" situation when it comes to safety. So, yeah, enjoy a false sense of security and feeling of righteousness - meanwhile, it has no safety or justice purpose.
Oh, by all means keep schools in the dark!
Wouldn't want fellow students to be safe or anything. Later, Google search results might hurt his chances of getting into Harvard - yeah, not likely a concern.
To google his name in two
To google his name in two years and see how much he learned from our joke of a court system.
UHub crime coverage bests the local media every time
Google? Naw, AdamG will have the latest crime spree by this fella right here on UHub since the conventional media can't be bothered to report half this stuff.