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Methuen Mass gun bust photo (courtesy faceboook.com)

The Methuen, Massachusetts police department posted about a multi-agency gun bust on their Facebook page. Judging from his reaction to commentators (in the space provided), Chief Solomon doesn’t seem to have read the Constitution very carefully. Not that it needs much reading. Anyway, one wonders if the peeps busted on the gun charges were involved in something more nefarious than simply keeping and bearing. Here’s the PD’s post . . .

On Friday September 27, 2013 detectives from the Methuen Police Department working in conjunction with members of the FBI, ATF and Dept. of Homeland Security working on a tip, seized the following firearms after an investigation.

1 โ€“ AK-47ย rifle variant described as a โ€œWASR-10โ€ with two 30 round banana clip magazines with 7.62cal rounds

1 – M&P-15 rifle with .223cal rounds and magazines

1 โ€“ Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum revolver with .357cal rounds

Taken into custody was: Methuen Resident Jad Ali Mokad age 24y/o. He was charged with the following felonies:

2 counts of Possession of Large Capacity Feeding Device (c.269, s.10) said person shall be punished by imprisonment in a state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than ten years.

1 count Unsecured Firearm where an under 18 person has access (c.140, s.131L) said person shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 or by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than ten years, or by both such fine and imprisonment.

Mr. Mokad is currently being held at the Methuen Police Dept. pending bail.

This investigation was and excellent example of local and federal law enforcement officers working together to make our community safer. The agents, officers and detectives did an excellent job of following a tip and developing information through investigation to a rapid conclusion resulting in an arrest and seizure of weapons and high capacity magazines.

Chief Solomon

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77 COMMENTS

  1. They’re getting a LOT of flack on their Facebook page. My particular favorite comment was this:

    Steve Carter Hey MPD, might I suggest that a lot of the negative comments here are related to a) your sensationalist description that suggested it took you and 3 federal agencies to “catch” this guy for ZERO, count them ZERO violations of any federal laws and 2 alleged violations of MA laws (I say alleged because, you know, innocent until proven guilty and all that) and b) you choose to take a nice big, again sensationalist picture of his two rifles that you *admit* were lawfully owned, his magazines that you *admit* 60% of which were clearly lawfully owned and his pistol which was allegedly stored improperly. You did this ON PURPOSE to whip up some community sympathy to make it look like you did some great service to this community. If there was anything else here, you’d have added those charges to this list right? It just wouldn’t seem like you were out there protecting and serving if you just showed two magazines and a revolver in a picture would it? You seized his firearms, that sounds like a 2nd Amendment violation to me and anyone else who lives in a free state.Whether you did so lawfully remains to be seen. Unfortunately, because of MA’s draconian and arguably unconstitutional “May Issue” permit laws, this guy will never be able to own firearms legally again in MA because I am pretty sure you guys will yank his permit regardless of the actual outcome of the “justice” being served here. Bravo MPD. Bravo.

    I’m not sure it’s possible to do it much better than that.

    • These charges are felonies. If he’s convicted he’s going to lose his gun rights in more than Mass. He loses his gun rights nationwide for life. Not to mention his job future with a felony conviction.

      Fvcked for life for a non crime.

      • Good God, who makes the conscious decision to live in that state?

        Get on a bus. Take a cab. Steal a bicycle, fer Christ’s sake. LEAVE!

    • MPD deserves all your heat and more. I wasn’t able to find your comments amongst all the primarily pro-gun rants, but I have no doubt that it is in there.

      Scary stuff, on this arrest.

  2. Umm why were they after him in the first place??? Is it the muslim sounding name or what??? Is it just because of the guns? It seems like something is missing and if this is the whole story we all need to start tooling up.

      • Yes but what was the tip about? Just the guns or the muslim name and guns or is he a pimp or terrorist or something??? Seriously this nation could not have fallen that far from being the world leader in the…. nevermind this didn’t happen in the US it happened in tax a chusettes a whole nother planet where guns commit crimes all by themselves

        • Well the nation was clearly warned by the azzhat -in-chief when he said he was going to “fundamentally transform the U.S.” I weep for our country. My son in college says he’s thinking about leaving for New Zealand when he graduates and I’m not necessarily discouraging him. His share of the national debt will probably be 250K by the time he graduates and he’ll be taxed into virtual servitude to pay for all the freeloaders.

        • It is in another TTAG article where his father made a call to LGS asking a few questions about silencers and 30 round magazines. Apparantly, due to another case, the feds were in the store when the gentleman called and asked the question. That is their tip.

      • Ah, yes – the oft discussed but never seen ‘Probable Cause Fairy’ strikes again with an “anonymous tip.”

        Gee wiz Batman, I can’t believe these officers were so lucky!

      • “MWAG Muslim With A Gun, soon to be the newest federal crime.”

        Oh, I WISH!

        Can’t you just see the courts twisting themselves into pretzels to placate the muzzies while denying the rest of us our 2nd amendment rights?

        • Wait until some two bit radical Islamist group here in the US gets the bright idea that Americas malls are such soft targets; that with a team of 6-10 men armed with inexpensive commercially available equipment you could kill several hundred people. All those FUDDS who have been dicking around on the fence will be screaming for an assault weapons ban with confiscation and the soccer moms will make sure it is done. DF will get her win and gun owners will be framed as supporting terrorism. its not a question of if, but when.

        • Very soon now. We’ve already seen a practice run in Kenya, and by all accounts that was wildly successful, so…

  3. “Agents from the federal ATF and Department of Homeland Security both received tips about the high-capacity magazines. The agents later contacted Methuen police, who joined in the investigation along with the FBI.”

    http://www.eagletribune.com/latestnews/x1442573446/Police-FBI-arrest-Methuen-man-on-several-gun-charges

    If that’s true, it was (and is, since it is ongoing) a blatantly illegal investigation. Feds don’t get to enforce state or local laws.

      • Or, pretty much anyone else. Neighbor, maybe he complained the neighbor was having a party and he complained so this was revenge.

        Your neighbor can say you pulled a gun on him even if it was false. The police will come and take you away and it is your word versus his. Since you have the gun, you loose. Oh, you will go to court, and you may even eventually get off but it will cost you — and, nothing will ever happen to them.

  4. If that’s all they think can be made to stick on the guy then there’s been some p*** poor police work involved, or more likely someone’s ego was hoping for a “terrorist” bust.

  5. If you look closely, both of the rifles have safety locks. Can’t see one on the pistol, but if it was a dresser drawer gun for home defense, it would make sense to make sure it is functional when needed. Most home invaders will not honor the 5 minute allowance to permit you to unlock your pistol.

    Some attorney should be able to have a field day with this one; need to follow the story to see what comes out in court.

    • Handshakes and promotions all around, and everybody gets to go home tonight. Except for the alleged “perp” who may have no future now.

  6. Just another day in MA.
    That’s how MA LE operates.
    It didn’t looks like this guy was in the commission of a crime (he had hi cap magazines and his pistol probably wasn’t secured per MA law).
    In a free state there is no crime at all here.
    But MA is anything but a free state.

    Smitty

  7. “Banana clip magazines”
    I keep getting confusing mental pictures. I get what they’re trying to say, but my mind ends up in the fruit and vegetable aisle…

    • He needs to re-read his agit-prop primer, they are banana magazine clips, NOT banana clip magazines. Can’t these guys get anything right?

      • Do you peel the bananas before you put them in the clip and then put it all in the magazine? And which Magazine? Guns & Ammo, American Rifleman, Shotgun News?

        • Well you peel them for weapons not capable of accepting jacketed bananas as for magazine i prefer shotgun news

        • Paper patched unpeeled bananas? Ain’t there something in the Geneva convention about such barbarity? Think of the chitlens.

        • Yes there is but as we are not a uniformed fighting force of a nation and are therefore guerilla freedom fighters we do not have to abide by the convention also we’re civilians and dumb hillbillies with banana guns so we are untouchable according to geneva… also Obama will send us smart bananas if we say we’re muslim freedom fighters I learned that from herr Holder and the Syrians

  8. Unbelievable.
    What a waste of time and taxpayers money.
    The upper East Coast states sure don’t belong in the same country I live in.
    Thank God I don’t live in Massachusetts.
    Where the police have nothing better to do then make gun owners into criminals.

  9. So if the charges stick, and I can’t see how they can’t based on the Socialist republic of Massachusetts, he is going to prison for a MINIMUM of 2.5 years. For having a couple 30 magazines.

  10. oh boy, I can’t wait for the NY (unfortunately I live there) gun tip program to kick into highgear. The state will pay up to $500 for a tip that leads to a successful conviction of NY Safe act violation. Hmmm…. the fine for have standard issue 30rd mags is $300, but the reward for snitching is $500. Thanks Gov Cuomo

  11. “… Methuen Police Department working in conjunction with members of the FBI, ATF and Dept. of Homeland Security working on a tip …”

    Um, I have $100 that says the “tip” came from illegal NSA surveillance of the man’s activities via cell phone, land line, and Internet activity — including all of his Google search history. Any takers?

    • My guess would be an FBI “confidential informant” with some hardware help from ATF and DHS. Check the sernos on the guns to see if they were F&F weapons.

      • I doubt there’s a complicated surveillance program behind this. I’ll bet dollars to donuts that this “tip” came from a pissed-off ex-wife or neighbor. Somebody had a personal beef with this guy, and sicced the po-po on him.

  12. On the positive side the civilian disarmament goons (including the ones that receive government paychecks) may have just shot themselves in the proverbial foot. The arrest for having the revolver available (not locked/disabled) violates the Heller decision. And the arrests for the magazines violates the “common use” holding of the Heller decision as well.

    It’s too bad that they have to try and ruin the guy’s life in the interim as his case works its way through the courts.

    On the other hand I suppose the man could consider himself fortunate that the feds didn’t just abduct him in the middle of the night never to be seen nor heard from again. They can do that you know as part of the Patriot Act and National Defense Authorization Act and who knows what other abominations that they call laws.

    • I am surprised that there was no bragging about “illegal arsenal”. “What! he had (your number here) rounds of ammo.”

  13. This is why I am so glad I don’t live in MA and was only forced to live there for two years. These are ridiculous charges and I hope he is able to fight them to a positive conclusion. Of course since this is MA, they will scare him into taking a plea that gives their courts a lot of his money and screws his life up, but is better than ending up in jail with Bubba.

  14. I left a comment on their facebook, not that it’ll make a difference…It still made me feel better to get my disdain out there.

  15. This guy’s life is ruined for what is completely legal in the majority of states, but unfortunately for him, not Massachusetts. Now he’s a felon with MA’s “gotcha” anti-gun laws. Frankly, he should take it to the Supreme Court because a Constitutional Right should not be infringed and subject to this state-to-state baloney. If Ohio decided to severely restrict your First Amendment rights and charged you with a felony because you said “screw politician X” the country would be in an uproar.

  16. All of these groups of law enforcement,wanted a piece of the headlines,the Feds after being called by the Methuen police came on down to flex some Fed muscle.Probably the “investigation” was actually a snitch telling them about the guy and the weapons,so the snitch could get a deal on a crime the snitch committed.Some of this blown out proportion grab headlines is not hard to figure out,because these agencies have to find a way to justify they’re budgets.Be prepared and ready.Keep your powder dry.

  17. This guy needs to get the NRA,and the GOA and the 2nd amendment foundation on their asses for Constitutional violations ,and turn the tables on these aholes, get the news media involved and embarrass them as we’ll as sue there asses off the planet!

  18. So if I understand the post he was arrested because of a tip on the magazines (probably illegal in MA) and the unsecured firearm thing is probably something that came later as a bonus. However I find it amazing they had nothing better to do with the resources of 3 federal agencies than chase after 2 illegal mags is there something special about the owner?

  19. Here are the “Likes” on their page:

    LAwS Communications
    Consulting/Business Services

    Reardon, Joyce & Akerson, Attorneys at Law
    Law Practice

    Mayor Steve Zanni
    Politician

    Massachusetts Law Enforcement Support Plates
    Community

    Charles F. Dewhirst Funeral Home
    Burial & Cremation Service ยท Funeral Service

    Speaks for itself.

  20. What happens when the next “perp” decides that he’s willing to protect his god given rights and his property with his life? This is going to get ugly.

  21. The tripwire has surely been crossed here. However redress is still available for this victim of government overreach via the courts. As has been said, the police publicly (boast) admit to several circumstances that make this a likely unconstitutional arrest and seizure. Even those of us in free states would do well to see that this gets the attention it seems to deserve and follow the case to it’s conclusion.

  22. In MA the magazines are not necessarily illegal. They must be manufactured prior to the 1994 AWB, the burden of proving the mags are illegal is supposed to fall on the state not the owner. The 20rd AR mags could be the problem. PMags and the like are just to Killy for the proletariat. If the poor guy didn’t have a lock on the Ruger then he is in violation of a MA storage law, it’s for the kids you know.
    MA is just a few months away from making the kids even safer with its own 7rd mag law with no grandfather clause as well as mandatory liability insurance for gun owners. If your gun is stolen and used in a crime you pay. Those gang bangers who stole it were in the beginning stages of turning their lives around and haven’t yet socked away a nest egg yet to be taken in civil court. Someone has to pay its for the kids.

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