Drunk man with gun calls police...

Sorry, that article is no longer available ??
wow , they pull them offline quick...

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk

SOMERSET —

A North Street man will be arraigned next month after an incident in which he is alleged to have been drunk and carrying a loaded gun outside his home.

The man, 65-year-old Richard Casey, was found to have been storing 13 guns in his home — including various rifles — that were seized by police. Seven of the guns were being stored in a closet without locks or any type of securing mechanism, police said.

Casey was charged with illegally storing a firearm and is scheduled to be arraigned on April 27 in Fall River District Court.

It was Casey, who lives at 607 North St., who called police on Feb. 10, telling a dispatcher that he was intoxicated and carrying a gun, according to police. Officers handcuffed him when they arrived and found a loaded Beretta .25-caliber handgun in a holster on his hip. Officers said he was unsteady on his feet and smelled of alcohol, and had several empty beer cans around where he was sitting in his yard beside a fire.

Casey told officers that his nephew who lives across the street, Joseph Gagnon, was accusing him of stealing firewood and threatening him. It was after their argument that Casey went into his house to get his gun, sat by the fire and then called police.

Casey is the husband of Town Moderator Lucia Casey.

Gagnon is the son of Arthur and Eleanor Gagnon. He was charged in 2008 with nine weapons, vandalism and assault charges after he was found with a loaded gun at their home. He was not charged in last month’s incident.
 
Last edited:
Ok, so I get that he was drunk and had a gun...but he was in his own yard. What grounds did they have to arrest him exactly?
 
Ok, so I get that he was drunk and had a gun...but he was in his own yard. What grounds did they have to arrest him exactly?

Clearly, not getting drunk in your front yard yelling at your neighbors is the ideal solution to this problem.

However, interesting question... You know what? They didn't have grounds to arrest him on a criminal charge, only to detain him (i.e.; drunk tank) for his welfare. BUT because we have a storage law and we have licensing, there is an opening. Those combined with his drunkeness (the drunkeness is the PC) gave them the 4A bypass they needed to go in and get the guns. That led to the criminal storage charge which was completely unrelated to the original event. But this storage law is for the children...

Oh, if they didn't get a warrant to go get the guns and IF he was smart enough to exercise his rights (no officer, you can not enter my home), the charges will be tossed (so long as he has a smart lawyer...). See Pasqualone v. Gately, 422 Mass. 398, 404 (1996). Now realize, with shall issue licensing and an honest judge, those who exercise their rights would be detained and spend the night in the drunk tank to sober up. The cops could not be able to just go in and get the guns, even with a warrant.


I should reiterate, not getting drunk in your front yard and harassing the neighbors is the ideal solution to this problem...
 
Hmm. I've had a few this evening. Better lock the doors. My question is, isn't it a bit cold to be sitting outside?
 
My question is, isn't it a bit cold to be sitting outside?

You have to know this family! Both sides, Casey and Gagnon are screwed up. This town, which is very green with a pretty level headed police force and Chief will have no love for either family. Had this been just the average Joe it wouldn't have even made the paper and likely would have been just a PC. This family likes to push buttons and they (the PD) knows that putting him in just PC would not have accomplished anything more than fueling the fire.
 
Back
Top Bottom