Commonwealth v. John Doe – North Hampton District Court

ATTORNEY PATRICK J. NOONAN VACATES CONVICTION FOR CARRYING A LOADED SHOTGUN IN A MOTOR VEHICLE. CASE DISMISSED.

In the 1980s, Defendant went hunting with a friend. A wildlife / environmental police officer observed the Defendant holding a shotgun, while sitting in the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. The vehicle was stopped. The officer observed that the Defendant had a shotgun in the passenger seat with him. The officer removed the shotgun, which was loaded, and cleared the ammunition from the shotgun. Defendant was charged with Loaded Shotgun in Automobile (G.L. c. 131, §63). Defendant pled guilty and was issued a fine. Defendant applied for a license to carry firearms, which was denied because of a conviction for a firearms offense. With a firearms conviction, Defendant would be federally prohibited from purchasing a firearm. The client contacted Attorney Patrick J. Noonan to vacate the conviction so he would no longer be prohibited from obtaining a firearms license or purchasing a firearm. Attorney Patrick J. Noonan was able to convince the judge to throw out the conviction. Defendant is no longer disqualified from possessing an LTC, or purchasing a firearm.