IANAL either. Maybe Boston doesn't prosecute their ordinance, but it
looks like Malden used their knife ordinance to hold this guy till they
secured him on another charge. I'm not planning on giving some cop
a reason to fish my pockets, but there's no way I want to have to
explain to a Chief that my suitability should not be affected by my
having violated some city's stupid knife ordinance. I quit carrying
knives after seeing these stories.
I don't think that Boston does or even can prosecute these city "by laws".
IANAL, but I'm not about to worry about them approving/disapproving my Swiss Army knife or my lockblade either!
The link is dead:
Malden cops nail alleged robbery suspect at T station
By Timothy J. Lavallee and Allison Morgan/
malden@cnc.com
Friday, June 17, 2005
Malden Police are being credited with nabbing one of the men believed to
be involved in an armored car heist in Boston Thursday which triggered
an hours-long, armed standoff in Edgeworth.
Dennis Quirk was arrested at the Malden Center MBTA stop Thursday
afternoon and charged with possession of a knife with a blade longer
than two inches. At the same time, Malden Police were joined by state
police and FBI agents in forming a safety perimeter around 311 Pearl St.
Residents in the normally quiet, but dense residential neighborhood
were asked to leave their homes or go and stay in their basements as
FBI agents were preparing to storm the house where one of the alleged
robbers was believe holed up. The Beebe School, several blocks away on
Pleasant Street, was also locked down to keep the kids safe.
The situation unfolded in the hours following a botched heist of a
Loomis, Fargo & Co. armored car in the North End section of Boston.
"We received information that this was going to happen and a number
of our detective units went to the area," Malden Police Chief Ken Coye
said of the armed standoff.
At some point a person left the house, and "that person was followed
for a short distance and he was arrested at the MBTA station (on the
knife charge)," Coye said. "Sgt. (Kevin) Molis was instrumental in
creating that knife ordinance."
Quirk was arraigned Friday morning in Malden District Court on the
charge of violating a city ordinance. He was released on personal
recognizance on that charge, but was immediately taken into federal
custody, according to Emily LaGrassa from the Middlesex District
Attorney's Office.
Also in federal custody is Jason Owens, Malden Police Chief Ken Coye
said. According to published reports, the FBI is looking for another
suspect.
"These guys here appear to be a group of people that are not new to
this," Coye said. "It may be kind of a lifestyle thing. The suspects are not
youngsters. They're at a point in their life where one would think they
would be working; that they would have a family." [continue]
An already tense scene grew more so as agents were preparing to storm
the house and apprehend one of the suspects who led investigators to
believe he was still in there. In addition to getting their man,
investigators were trying to ensure the safety of the hundreds of
onlookers.
Traffic was stopped for nearly 30 minutes at about 5:30 p.m. on the
very busy Highland Avenue. Foot traffic was also stopped and people out
for an evening stroll with their dogs were ordered by police to stop in
place. No one was allowed to cross Oakland Street at Highland Avenue,
and Pearl Street was barricaded at Medford Street.
Malden Police, including Coye, were carrying M4 Carbine semi-
automatic rifles, which gave the area the true feel of a war zone. For
many, it was the first time seeing such weapons in real life and
afterwards people were asking police about them.
"We have these weapons in the cruisers in the bosses' cars," Coye
said. Malden Police use these instead of shotguns.
"For the environments that we have, they're useless," Coye said of
the shotguns.
"Hopefully it sends a message of the type of firepower we have," he
added.
Without them, Coye said, Malden Police might have been out-gunned.
The suspects had high-powered weapons as well, including an AK-47, a
TEC-9 and a MAC 11 submachine gun with a silencer.
"Believe it or not, there are certain illegal rent-a-gun situations. They
have been in operation over the years," Coye said. "Those things are too
expensive really to buy."
Several residents said Thursday that they were aware that the FBI
was staking out the house for months as if it was common knowledge.
Please read the Observer on Friday, June 24 for more expanded
coverage.
http://www2.townonline.com/malden/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=270681
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