Andover Firearms Defense Lawyer
Massachusetts firearms charges carry mandatory-minimum prison sentences. Attorney Adela Aprodu defends Andover residents against M.G.L. c. 269 § 10 charges in Lawrence District Court, with a focus on motions to suppress and constructive-possession defenses.
Firearms Defense in Andover, MA
If you hold a License to Carry — or you drove into Massachusetts assuming your home-state permit traveled with you — M.G.L. c. 269 § 10 is the statute that decides what happens next. It makes it a crime to possess a firearm without a valid license, to carry one outside your home or business while unlicensed, and to possess large-capacity feeding devices, and several of its subsections impose mandatory minimum sentences no judge has discretion to suspend or shorten.
For Andover defendants, that exposure plays out in two courtrooms: arraignment at Lawrence District Court, followed in most unlicensed-firearm cases by indictment to Essex Superior Court, where the mandatory time is on the table. A large share of the firearm cases Attorney Adela Aprodu sees from Andover begin on I-93: a State Police stop, a question about a gun in the console or trunk, and the arrest of a driver who is fully licensed at home but not here. The defense starts with the legality of that stop, moves to whether the Commonwealth can actually tie the gun to you, and tests whether your license status truly makes the carry "unlicensed."
- § 10(a) — Unlicensed Carry — the charge most out-of-state travelers face: 18 months mandatory minimum in the House of Correction for carrying outside your home or business without an LTC
- § 10(c) — Possession Outside Home — having a firearm away from home with no FID or LTC, punishable by up to 5 years in state prison
- § 10(h) — Possession in Home/Business Without FID — the lowest tier; a misdemeanor in some circumstances and a felony in others
- § 10(m) — Large-Capacity Feeding Device — LCFDs and assault weapons, carrying 2.5–10 years
- § 10G — Armed Career Criminal — a second or third firearm offense brings mandatory 10- and 15-year sentences
- LTC / FID Issues — suspensions and denials of the license itself, with the appeal route under M.G.L. c. 140 § 131 and the LTC appeal process
How Andover Firearm Cases Are Defended
Because a judge has no power to go below the mandatory floor once a conviction under M.G.L. c. 269 § 10 enters, the real fight happens before trial. Four questions drive nearly every Andover case. Was the stop and search that turned up the gun constitutional? Can the Commonwealth prove constructive possession — knowledge of the weapon plus the ability and intent to control it, the standard drawn from Commonwealth v. Brown — when the car had more than one occupant? Was the weapon operable? And does an LTC or FID issue defeat the "unlicensed" element — a live question for permit holders whose license lapsed, was restricted, or was issued by another state? Win the suppression motion and the prosecution usually collapses, because without the gun there is rarely any physical evidence left.
Read more on each defense: firearms defense · unlicensed carry · illegal possession · LTC/FID appeals.
Andover: Where Your Case Is Heard & Who Prosecutes It
- District Court — arraignment for an Andover firearm arrest happens at Lawrence District Court, 2 Appleton Street, Lawrence.
- Felony indictments — mandatory-minimum firearm counts move up to Essex County Superior Court, sitting in Lawrence at 43 Appleton Way and in Salem at 56 Federal Street.
- Police & State Police — the Andover Police Department handles in-town arrests; the State Police Andover Barracks (31 Gould Road) patrols the I-93 corridor, and knowing which agency stopped you changes both the discovery you demand and the cross-examination at the suppression hearing.
- License & the RMV — driver's-license fallout for Andover residents is handled at the Lawrence RMV Service Center, 73 Winthrop Avenue.
- Local context — the I-93/I-495 interchange in Andover is among the most heavily patrolled stretches of highway in Massachusetts, and the vehicle stops it generates are prosecuted out of Lawrence.
Key Takeaways
- Nearly every Massachusetts firearm offense lives in M.G.L. c. 269 § 10, with a different mandatory minimum attached to each subsection
- A § 10(a) unlicensed-carry conviction means at least 18 months — no judge can suspend it
- For I-93 travelers and LTC holders, the strongest defenses are the stop itself and license-status challenges
- Because mandatory time is at stake, indictment to Essex Superior Court is the norm for Andover firearm counts
- A suspended or denied LTC is fought on a separate civil track under M.G.L. c. 140 § 131
Frequently Asked Questions
Carrying a firearm outside your home or workplace without an LTC violates M.G.L. c. 269 § 10(a), and conviction means a minimum of 18 months in the House of Correction — a floor the sentencing judge is not allowed to suspend or reduce. Repeat offenders face § 10G, which raises the floor to a mandatory 10 years for a second offense and 15 years for a third, served in state prison.
Often, yes. If the court suppresses the firearm because the stop or search was unlawful, the prosecution almost always ends there. Where several people occupied the car, the Commonwealth may be unable to prove constructive possession. If the gun had functional defects, an operability defense can defeat the § 10 elements. And negotiating down to a lesser-included offense — § 10(h) instead of § 10(a), for example — takes the mandatory minimum off the table.
Not automatically — there is no universal reciprocity. Some states recognize the MA LTC under their own concealed-carry rules, but many do not, so check the destination state's reciprocity law every time before traveling armed. FOPA, the federal transport statute, offers narrow protection for pass-through transport only; it never authorizes carry.
M.G.L. c. 140 § 131(f) requires a suspended licensee to turn in both the license and every firearm within the stated deadline. You then have 90 days to challenge the suspension in District Court under § 131(f). Holding onto your guns after a suspension can itself be prosecuted as illegal possession.
Yes — Massachusetts applies constructive possession, which reaches anyone who knew the firearm was present and had the ability and intent to control it. That is also the doctrine's weak point: in the multi-occupant vehicle stops typical of I-93 firearm arrests, proving those elements against one particular occupant is difficult, and simply sitting near a gun in a shared space is legally insufficient.
The FID (Firearms Identification Card) covers non-large-capacity rifles and shotguns plus certain ammunition. The LTC (License to Carry) is the broader credential: it covers handguns and large-capacity firearms and permits carry, subject to restriction classes that control where and how the holder may carry. The local police chief administers the FID and issues the LTC with state oversight.
Related Andover Practice Areas
Free Consultation — (978) 406-9090
Talk through your Andover firearm charge directly with Attorney Adela Aprodu. The initial consultation is free and confidential.
Contact the Firm