Judge disallows guns, knives allegedly found in Kingston searches
By SYDNEY SCHWARTZ
The Patriot Ledger
BROCKTON - Handguns, shotguns, rifles and knives allegedly found in the Kingston home and storage locker of a man accused of illegally stockpiling weapons will not be considered during his Brockton Superior Court trial next week.
Donald Govoni, 48, faces charges of unlawful firearm possession after police in 2006 allegedly found a stockpile of weapons in Kingston and in a storage locker in Pembroke. He pleaded innocent last year to 44 weapons-related charges.
But on Monday, Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Locke tossed out the evidence found in a unit Govoni rented at Storage King in Kingston and at his last known address, 14 Mountain Ash Drive in Kingston.
Locke said there was no probable cause to issue warrants for the Kingston property. Weapons found in Pembroke should still be considered in court, he said.
‘‘It takes out a good deal of the evidence,’’ Govoni’s attorney, Michael Bergeron, said Monday. ‘‘In my opinion, it’s a very solid decision in fact and law. The judge did the right thing.’’
Pembroke police began looking for Govoni in August 2006 after they allegedly found Uzi-like semiautomatic weapons, a rocket launcher, silencers and numerous ammunition magazines in a unit he rented at Stor-It Mini Warehouses on Old Oak Street.
Workers at the Pembroke warehouse discovered some of the arsenal while clearing out Govoni's three storage units for failure to pay rent, authorities said. The workers notified police.
Days later, Kingston police received warrants to search 14 Mountain Ash Drive and the Storage King. They seized two semi-automatic handguns, two shotguns, an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, three other rifles, nine switchblade knives and 3,558 rounds of ammunition, -- among other items.
But Judge Locke said there were not enough facts in the warrant application to conclude that weapons would be found in the Kingston locations.
‘‘The only demonstrated reason to suspect that additional items existed was based on the discovery of photographs showing a male holding a machine gun and rifle, weapons that were not discovered during the Pembroke search,’’ he wrote in his opinion.
‘‘In order to find probable cause a magistrate would have to conclude that it was probable (not merely possible) that Govoni was the individual depicted in the photographs, that the weapons shown were still in Govoni’s possession, and that they were probably located in his home, shed or storage unit.’’
A Duxbury police sergeant arrested Govoni on Aug. 22, 2006. Govoni spent 11 months in jail before posting bail in July. He is living with family, his attorney said. Police said Govoni’s firearms license lapsed in 1995.
Assistant District Attorney Bridget Norton Middleton said the district attorney’s office will review the court’s decision regarding the Kingston evidence.
‘‘We anticipate going forward with the Pembroke charges,’’ she said Monday.
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops
About MassCops, the home for Massachusetts law enforcement.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network opened in 1998 and is now a part of the New England Police Network The site is a pro-police discussion forum intended for sworn police officers and civilian law enforcement officials as well as those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement here in Massachusetts.
The goal of The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network is to provide an informal network of law enforcement officials here in Massachusetts for educational and informational purposes.
The forum covers many topics such as Police Related News Articles, Agency & Profession Discussions, Police Training as well as Law Enforcement Career Information.
The Massachusetts Law Enforcement Network and The New England Police Network (NEPN) and it's network sites are privately owned websites/domains and are not affiliated with or endorsed by any government association or agency.
MassCops (masscops.com) and (masscop.com) are privately owned are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Massachusetts Coalition of Police (masscop.org)
ma police, boston ma police, massachusetts police, massachusetts police, mass state police, mass police, ma, mass, massachusetts, massachusetts, massachutes, massachusetts law, massachusetts polece, police, officer, police officer, cops, police gear, law enforcement, police duty gear, state police, sheriff, law, police supply, police agency directory, police agency, police department, traffic officer, police dept, state trooper, dispatcher, massachusetts county sheriff, massachusetts sheriff, massachusetts department of corrections, ma doc, doc, dept of corrections, police information, civil service, ma civil service, massachusetts crime, police training, police academy, ma police academy, massachusetts officers, masscop, masscops, mpa, bpa, ibpoa, police association, massachusetts police news, massachusetts crime news, mass most wanted, police career information, police patrol, police administration, police books, crime scene training, police discussion, crime discussions, cops