Hey, there! Log in / Register

Somerville man charged with driving in Seaport with loaded gun

Boston Police report arresting a Somerville man after finding a gun in a storage area in his car door early this morning.

Police say gang officers stopped David Meli, 29, outside 51 Seaport Blvd. for a traffic infraction shortly after 1 a.m. When a license check showed his license was revoked, they ordered him out of the car and "they observed a firearm in plain sight in the driver’s side door."

The gun, police say, was "a loaded .45 caliber Springfield Armory handgun with an altered serial number."

Meli was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, carrying a loaded firearm, possession of a large-capacity feeding device, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and driving with a revoked license.

Innocent, etc.

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

I'm confused; I thought BPD didn't have jurisdiction in the Seaport? I'm glad a criminal and an illegal firearm is off the streets, I'm just concerned this case could be tossed because of a (silly) technicality.

up
Voting closed 0

Do Boston Police have jurisdiction on Seaport Boulevard? I'm a firm believer that BPD has jurisdiction within every inch of the city, including the Seaport but can easily see a defense attorney sharing numerous news articles and legal documents with the jury that they don't, only State Police have jurisdiction in the Seaport under state law.

Great arrest by BPD but if the judge allows jurisdiction testimony and the stop is deemed illegal, the gun becomes the "fruit of the poisonous tree" and is inadmissable. Might be a good case to settle the jurisdiction battle between State Police and BPD. It was a matter of time.

up
Voting closed 0

The jurisdiction in the Seaport has to do with 911/non emergency calls and then details. But if Boston PD wants to drive around there and make traffic stops and investigate crimes they can. I don't even think the State Police minds if they do that.

up
Voting closed 0

Massachusetts gun laws are extremely restricted compared to most states. Why do Massachusetts citizens put up with such terrible laws?

up
Voting closed 0

Some people appreciate living in a state that makes it harder to get a gun.

up
Voting closed 0

So let’s get this straight. You have the right to own a gun. A driving license is only a privilege. People are in much greater danger of getting hit by a car than being shot. So people like to live in a state where guns are tough to come by but just about anyone with a pulse can have a license to drive? That makes so much sense to me.

up
Voting closed 0

Most people need a car (to get to work, to shop for groceries, etc.). Almost nobody needs a gun.

up
Voting closed 0

Constitutional rights don't require a need. Opinions are not facts.

up
Voting closed 0

And you know what? Massachusetts has the lowest rate of firearm deaths in the country. Thank you, gun laws.

up
Voting closed 0

Guns were invented to kill people.

up
Voting closed 0

So were bows and arrows but, like most tools, they were found to multipurpose. Hot air balloons and airplanes were first mass produced for military use, so your train of thought means that both are for killing people.

up
Voting closed 0

than shot because (wait for it...) there's so many more cars than guns?

up
Voting closed 0

I think the number of guns per capita is close to or greater than number of personal automobiles per capita.

More people have multiple guns.

Cars are also WAY more powerful than guns.

up
Voting closed 0

I think the number of guns per capita is close to or greater than number of personal automobiles per capita.

Guessing that's probably not true in MA. And a great many of the ones here are used only for hunting or target shooting.

up
Voting closed 0

Drivers may have rules of operation, but they are terrible at following them or paying attention to where they are driving, or having decent driving skills for avoidance. Plus there are targets EVERYWHERE on and off the roads.

Also the projectile is HUGE in comparison. Like a barn door hitting a bullet. Or a farmhand.

Even a fairly harmless device if used by millions for many hours will end up with a decent casualty list.

I'd rather be identified as a shooter than a driver. Better cachet.

up
Voting closed 0

I don't see how MA makes it harder on anyone that is actually a criminal since we consistently see repeat offenders in UHub stories and every other bordering state (except NY) has fewer gun laws and a significantly lower violent crime rate than MA.

It's not so much the laws but how the state applies the laws against criminals and the state apparatus here regularly fails to do a very good job against violent offenders. CJ reform in MA may allow resources to be reallocated to address violent offenders if we are lucky.

up
Voting closed 0

Hint: Not MA.

You're right - we have repeat offenders. Every state has a law against murder and yet every state has murders. Does that mean we should just ditch all the murder laws?

Meanwhile, we have articles like this one from Governing magazine, which says we actually have the lowest per-capita death rate from gun violence in the country.

Is part of that because we have one of the best health-care systems in the country? Perhaps. But also, we have far fewer people getting shot in part because of the role police chiefs play in deciding who gets a license. But don't listen to me, read the article.

up
Voting closed 1

Hold on!

Savage Arms and Smith & Wesson are both producing firearms in Massachusetts.

up
Voting closed 0

New Hampshire makes it clear you can buy fireworks there but you can't use them there. Similar thing with Massachusetts gun manufacturers - it's not like they have a factory store out front.

up
Voting closed 0

How does a police chief deciding that he doesn't like anyone but wealthy, white, and connected (hi Brookline *waves*) obtain a license to practice a civil right have any effect on criminals which don't acquire licenses and are usually federally prohibited from possessing firearms in the first place?

Over 50% of the firearms used in MA are acquired in MA according to the Mass State Police. The Mass State Police are also supposed to have an anti-arms trafficking unit but the legislature hasn't bothered to fund it in 4 years. This was testimony before the legislature for several years now to no avail.

The 50% of firearms from outside the state follow the illegal drug trade. You know part of that highly successful War on Drugs?

Laws don't matter as much as enforcement of the laws and socioeconomic conditions which keep people from participating in organized violent crime. MA is also the most violent state in New England per capita. This is not something to be proud of.

up
Voting closed 0

With, like, a population more akin to Boston or Worcester than, oh, Dedham, get back to me.

The sad fact is that urban areas are where criminals tend to congregate, and we're the most urbanized state in New England, by far. Until then, you might want to compare us to other industrialized (or post-industrial) states ...

up
Voting closed 0

I live here, I have an LTC, and I have a few sporting shotguns. I jumped through the required hoops to get them--multiple background checks, finger printing, safety training, etc.

I didn't and don't find the state laws "terrible". They seem entirely reasonable to me and I wish they would be adopted nationally. Throw in a capacity limitation (8 rounds for handguns and 5 for long guns) and I would be happy with that as well.

But while we're at it, let's have five year minimums for illegal carry and obliterated serial numbers too.

up
Voting closed 0

"five year minimums for illegal carry and obliterated serial numbers"?

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Sounds like you want to actually punish scumbags that break the gun laws we already have on the books - and severely at that. How dare you?

That won't work, we just need more and more gun laws that only impact people like you and I - the ones that actually abide by them.

Silly goose.

Kidding aside, if we want to get serious about preventing senseless deaths from criminals using ILLEGAL firearms, the mandatory sentences for convictions on illegal possession, obliterated serial numbers, and subsequent assaults murders, etc should be WAY steeper.

When the first moron goes away for 10 years after being caught in possession of an illegal gun, the word on the street will travel pretty fast.

Until we get there - stricter laws for law-abiding citizens and associated talk will solve nothing.

Why is this so hard for anti-gun activists, lax judges, and inept lawmakers to understand?

Westie, like you, I have an LTC, and I deal with the laws (and limitations on capacity) - it is only ENFORCEMENT that will change our culture and reduce the senseless killing.

Still want to argue for tougher laws? see Chicago.

up
Voting closed 0

Pretty sure the obliterated serial # is illegal in all 50 states and territories.

up
Voting closed 0

It's a federal crime.

up
Voting closed 0

A educational moment on traffic enforcement and violations variations from state to state jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

For the most part I always thought a law enforcement officer is an officer of the law are no matter where their jurisdiction lies.

I thought there was some jurisdictional eminent domain kind of thing going on here and BPD has that domain right to.........

Could someone factually educate me?

up
Voting closed 0

The way it is worded implies that the location of the arrest matters in the charge.
Man Driving in Seaport Charged with Possession of Loaded Gun?

up
Voting closed 0

In that he was initially stopped for a traffic infraction while driving through the Seaport (I think the Globe said he ran a red light).

up
Voting closed 0

At all hours 7 days a week.I NEVER see police unless on paid details.

up
Voting closed 0