Barnstable: Gun Charges and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon: Motion to Suppress Allowed and Case Dismissed

Summary of Facts: Barnstable police received reports of shots fired and individuals fleeing in different directions. When officers arrived on the scene, the police observed our client and other people running and get into a car. The police stopped the car, pulled everyone out, and placed them into separate cruisers. After searching the car, the police found ammunition. Officers then searched the surrounding area and found a shotgun. Other searches near the reported shooting turned up a spent shotgun shell that matched the ammunition in the car.

Action: Attorney Coughlin was appointed to represent our client and in short order identified the constitutional violations committed by the police. Given the officers’ unlawful conduct, Attorney Coughlin moved to suppress critical evidence in the case, including all evidence found after the police stopped the car.

Result: After a hearing, the Court agreed with Attorney Coughlin’s arguments about the police’s unlawful conduct. As a result, the Court granted his motion and suppressed the evidence obtained by the police’s unconstitutional conduct. The prosecutor then dismissed the case against our client.