Somerville gun arrest: 'We are very fortunate this didn’t go bad,' Deputy Chief says

[SecularMotion]

“Under the circumstances, we are very fortunate this didn’t go bad,” said Deputy Chief Paul Upton. “We don’t know if these guns were coming to Somerville or going through but the good news is that we got eight guns off the street. The best news is that we got them off the street.”

Six of these were loaded and ready to go, two were reportedly stolen from North Carolina, and Gustave reportedly had bullets in his pocket. The rest are still being tracked by detectives in the ongoing investigation, Upton said. None of the suspects had a license to carry firearms.

According to court documents, each of the guns are worth $600. They were identified as Walther P22, Springfield 9mm high capacity, Taurus .45 high capacity, Smith & Wesson 9mm high capacity, Glock 23 .40 high capacity, Taurus .357 Magnum, Jennings .22, Ruger .38.

“We know more and more guns are coming into the state from other states that don’t have the strict gun laws we do,” Upton said. “This should tell those states something.”

http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1606940115/Somerville-gun-arrest-We-are-very-fortunate-this-didn-t-go-bad-Deputy-Chief-says#ixzz25ixwUAxp

[oneshooter]

1. And of course you dump and hide.

What is YOUR take on this, what laws would YOU propose to stop it?


At least tell us what damn state it happened in!

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. This indeed it is a classic Google dump

Where is DanTex when we need him

[DonP]

16. Probably whining up in Meta about all the trolls in the Gungeon...

Or joining all the other control fans demanding a "gun control only" forum where do one will ever point out their ignorance of facts or question their emotional rants down here.

You do know that if you ask them what they mean by something or point out the FBI crime reports you're obviously using "NRA right wing talking points".

No wonder these people couldn't get a non binding resolution passed by their own mother if they tried.

To date, unless I missed something big, none of the gun control whiners are doing anything in the real world about gun control, besides whining online and now stinking up Meta and GD with their complaints.

To prove how disconnected from reality they are, they take more twisted joy out of getting somebody thrown off DU, as if that scored some big points in the gun debate, than actually getting a petition signed to repeal CCW or OC or any other gun right in their home state.

[ManiacJoe]

2. Filling in for SecularMotion on the opening comments:

Who are the idiots writing up the gun descriptions in the "court documents"?!?!?!

[gejohnston]

3. I'm glad it did not go bad too.

The average age of a MA crime gun, at least out of the ones ATF traced is 14 years old. Out of the 1,731 guns traced that year, 351 were traced to MA. Only 31 was traced to NC.
http://www.atf.gov/statistics/download/trace-data/2011/2011-trace-data-massachusetts.pdf

FWIW, most of those guns were way over valued. My Walther P-22 was about $350. Paying over 50 bucks for a Jennings is a rip off.

[GreenStormCloud]

4. Make that nine guns and a piece of junk.

Jennings are junk guns. They aren't worth $200 brand new.

Bryco Arms produced several brands of guns, such as Raven, Bryco, and Jennings. All were the same quality, or lack thereof. In 2003? they went bankrupt as a result of losing a product liability lawsuit. (It was one they deserved to lose as the design of the particular gun was stupidly defective.) Bryco's former foreman, Paul Jimenez, bought the bankrupt Bryco Arms for $510,000 in August 2004, and renamed the company Jimenez Arms. They resumed production of the same crappy guns.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennings_J-22 for more info on the Jennings J-22.

$600.00 for that?

[slackmaster]

5. A Jennings .22 worth $600? Is it heavily gold plated or something?

That happens to be one of the cheapest, most poorly made handguns ever created.

[DonP]

7. Plated hell, it would have to be machined from 24 karat bar stock ... and I still wouldn't fire it.

[slackmaster]

8. I know someone who owns two of them. Usually only one is in working order.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that (either example in his case) is the most inherently unreliable and inaccurate "modern" weapon I've ever fired.

I'd choose a flintlock pistol over that as a carry piece.

[ileus]

9. None of those are worth 600 bucks....and what model is "high capacity"?

do your job...go to gun broker and enter p22 find the real price. Do that for every pistol and find the real price. Then figure out "high capacity" isn't a model number for any manufacture.

[Common Sense Party]

10. "Springfield 9mm high capacity"????

Is that just like my Springfield XDm 9 mm? "High capacity", because it holds 19 rounds?

Funny, I don't consider that "high capacity."

[ileus]

11. killer clips...

as some here used to call them...

[Berserker]

12. When it takes

less than 2 seconds to change mags what does it matter if a mag holds 10 rounds or fifteen like my Glock.
This high capacity mag debate is a joke.

[Euromutt]

14. I have a pretty decent idea of what "this should tell those states"

Namely that there's a demand for illegal firearms in Massachusetts, and that there are unscrupulous (though fortunately not too smart) individuals prepared to fulfill that demand.

According to court documents, Paulino later told police that he dealt drugs and had met Vital to buy two ounces of marijuana for $500.

Evidently, there's also a demand for marijuana in Massachusetts, and there are unscrupulous (though fortunately not too smart) individuals prepared to fulfill that demand as well. Sometimes, they're the same people.

Deputy Chief Upton is engaging in typical "supply-driven" thinking, i.e. thinking that the number of guns "on the street" drives the crime rate, rather than drawing what would be the correct conclusion, namely that the number of guns "on the street" is driven by demand for them among the criminal element, or at least, demand perceived by a would-be supplier. Messrs Vital and Gustave wouldn't have been carrying that many handguns if they didn't think they could sell them to somebody. Rather than patting himself and his department on the back for essentially just getting lucky, Upton might want to ask himself where Vital and Gustave were hoping to flog those pieces, and who wanted them.

[gejohnston]

15. all economies are demand based,

applying "supply side economics" is like trying to defy gravity.