A Chelsea District Court jury said no — and it only took them about 15 minutes to decide. In February 2026, Attorney Matthew Peterson secured a not guilty verdict at a jury trial for a client who faced years of mandatory jail time after police found a firearm roughly 10 feet away from him. Despite the police charge, the jury agreed that being near a gun is not the same as possessing it, and they wasted little time reaching that conclusion.
What Happened
Police responded to a call about a group of suspicious people in a Chelsea neighborhood late at night. Officers arrived and detained four individuals, then began searching for a reported fifth person. They discovered our client alone in a nearby yard. Police stopped him, ordered him to sit down, and began questioning him. Shortly after, officers located a loaded firearm with a 17-round magazine in the same yard, approximately 10 feet from where our client was sitting.
Our client was arrested and charged based on his proximity to the weapon. Because the gun was loaded and equipped with a high-capacity magazine — anything over 10 rounds qualifies as a large capacity feeding device under Massachusetts law — the charges stacked up fast. The base charge of carrying a firearm without a license carries an 18-month mandatory minimum jail sentence. The large capacity feeding device added another mandatory minimum on top of that, and the loaded firearm triggered yet another consecutive penalty. All told, our client was facing years behind bars.
Making matters worse, our client was under 21 years old. Under Massachusetts law, you must be at least 21 to obtain a License to Carry. That meant there was no license he could have obtained, no legal path to carry a handgun available to him — a restriction that is now facing active constitutional challenges in federal court.
How We Fought the police charge Case
We attacked this case on multiple fronts, starting before trial with a motion to suppress evidence. We argued that the police illegally detained our client, conducted an unlawful search of the area, and interrogated him without proper protections. The court agreed in part, suppressing our client’s statements based on the officers’ conduct. However, the court declined to suppress the firearm itself or our client’s identity, which meant we had to take this fight to a jury.
At trial, we focused on a simple but powerful argument: close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. The prosecution needed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that our client actually possessed the firearm — that he knew about it and had the ability and intent to exercise control over it. Being in the same yard as a gun, even 10 feet away, does not meet that standard. A person’s mere presence near a weapon, without more, is not enough for a conviction under Massachusetts law.
We also raised a constitutional challenge to the prohibition on individuals under 21 obtaining a License to Carry. Multiple federal circuit courts — including the Third, Fifth, and Eighth Circuits — have recognized that adults between 18 and 20 are part of “the people” protected by the Second Amendment. This issue remains actively litigated across the country, and we believe Massachusetts’s blanket prohibition on young adults obtaining carry licenses will not survive constitutional scrutiny.
The Verdict
After a one-day trial before a six-person jury in Chelsea District Court, the jury found our client not guilty on all charges. Their deliberation lasted less than 15 minutes.
This case is a reminder that the Commonwealth must prove every element of a firearms charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Proximity is not possession. If police find a gun near you, that does not automatically make it yours — and a skilled Massachusetts defense attorney can make that distinction clear to a jury.
Facing Gun Charges in Massachusetts?
If you or someone you love is facing firearms charges anywhere in Eastern Massachusetts, you need more than a general criminal defense attorney. You need a lawyer who understands Massachusetts firearms law, knows how to challenge police conduct, and is prepared to take your case to trial. Attorney Matthew Peterson has the experience and results to fight for you. Call the Law Office of Matthew W. Peterson at 617-295-7500 today to get started on your defense.
