Commonwealth v. John Doe – Attleboro District Court

ATTORNEY GERALD J. NOONAN GETS CRIMINAL CHARGES DISMISSED AGAINST CHINESE IMMIGRANT WHO THREATENED TO SHOOT CO-WORKERS.

Defendant is an elderly hard-working Chinese immigrant. Defendant was in the manufacturing department of a company. Co-workers noticed that the Defendant was acting bizarre and unusually. His employer spoke with the Defendant about his poor work performance. Defendant believed that his co-workers went behind his back and complained to their boss about his work performance. Defendant was very agitated when confronted about his work performance. Co-workers called the police because the Defendant threatened to leave and come back with a firearm and shoot his co-workers. Police responded to the scene. Police approached the Defendant as he was working in the manufacturing department. Out of an abundance of caution and for the safety of everyone, police attempted to escort the Defendant from the workplace, causing him to become more agitated and the Defendant repeated his threats to shoot everyone. Defendant was charged with multiple counts of Threats to Commit a Crime pursuant to G.L. c. 275, §2. Defendant had never been in any trouble. Attorney Gerald J. Noonan represented the client and gathered information, which he presented to the prosecution about the state of his client’s health. Defendant was elderly and was being treated for the late stages of cancer and was prescribed numerous strong medications. Attorney Noonan presented medical evidence and argued that the Defendant was not in the right state of mind due to his aggressive cancer treatment combined with the stress and strong medications. His behavior was completely out of the norm and he had no intention to harm anyone. Although witnesses stated that the Defendant threatened to leave the workplace, retrieve his firearm, and return, Defendant did not even possess a gun. After considering the evidence presented by Attorney Noonan, the prosecution agreed to dismiss all charges.