Commonwealth v. A.C. – Quincy District Court

THREATS TO COMMIT A MASS SHOOTING DISMISSED AT TRIAL, AS THE NOONAN DEFENSE TEAM INTERVIEWED THE ALLEGED VICTIM WHO STATED THAT SHE DID NOT BELIEVE THAT THE DEFENDANT’S STATEMENT WAS A LEGITIMATE THREAT AND SHE MADE EXCULPATORY STATEMENTS TO THE DEFENSE, WHICH WERE NOT CONTAINED IN THE POLICE REPORT.

Defendant was a Loss Prevention Officer at a department store in the Braintree Mall. Defendant resigned from the store after getting a new job. The Store Manager reported to the police that the Defendant made disturbing comments to a female employee. The police interviewed the female employee who stated that she had a disturbing conversation with the Defendant in October, after the Las Vegas mass shooting. She told police that the Defendant approached her and stated: “How would you like it if I came in here and started shooting everyone? Would that make you afraid?” She told police that the Defendant threatened to shoot her in the mass shooting because she would be caught in the gunfire. She told police that the statements made her nervous and afraid. Based on the female employee’s statements to police, Defendant was charged with Threats to Commit a Crime (G.L. c. 275, §2), the threat being to commit a mass shooting. Given the nature of the threat involving a mass shooting, the case was taken very seriously by law enforcement given the history of mass shootings in the United States, including the Las Vegas shooting, the Parkland shooting, the Virginia Tech shooting, the Sandy Hook shooting, and the more recent shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio.

Result: In preparing for trial, Attorney Patrick J. Noonan had his private investigator interview the female employee (i.e., the alleged victim). The female employee gave a much different story to the defense. Her statements to the defense were much different than what was portrayed in the police report. She told the defense that the Defendant approached her work station. She described the Defendant’s demeanor as joking and laughing. She stated that it was a casual conversation and the Defendant did not appear upset or angry. She stated that she did not believe that the Defendant’s statement was meant to be taken as a legitimate threat. She did not call 911 or report it to police. She mentioned it to another co-worker and it was this co-worker who suggested that she report it to management. It was only after the co-worker made this suggestion that she reported it to management. She did not think that her report to management would result in any criminal charges. In fact, she felt bad that the Defendant was charged. Even though the Defendant’s statement was made in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting in October, the incident was not immediately reported to police. The department store decided to report the incident to law enforcement the day after the Parkland Shooting. Based on the statements by the female employee to the defense team, the District Attorney’s Office dismissed the charge at trial.