Mass Staties Uncover A Flurry Of Firearms In 4 Day Stretch
Boy, Mass State Police have been on the warpath lately in Western Massachusetts on the hunt for illegal firearms and recently Lady Luck joined in on the search. Recently, in a four-day span, it seems that every time they turned a corner, they uncovered another one.
Massachusetts State Troopers, working out of the Springfield barracks, made three arrests for illegal firearms within a 96-hour period.
That's three separate illegal firearms arrests in 4 days. And all of them were in Hampden County. Two of them were in Springfield and the third in Chicopee. Man, it's never going to end.
According to Massachusetts State Police on their Facebook page, the first arrest happened on Monday, February 21, after a vehicle was stopped for operating with a completely flat tire.
The Trooper who made the stop also determined that the vehicle's registration was revoked, the vehicle itself was not insured, and the passenger, 26-year-old Drez Baker of Springfield, was not wearing his seatbelt.
After conducting an inventory of the vehicle's contents prior to it being towed, the officer located a loaded 9mm. Neither of the vehicle's occupants is licensed to carry. Baker was arrested and booked on numerous charges.
The second arrest took place on Wednesday, February 23, after another Trooper stopped a black BMW sedan. The Trooper had performed a random license plate check and it was determined that the license plate actually belonged on a black Audi sedan.
Once the vehicle was stopped, the Trooper informed the driver that the BMW was not properly registered or insured and would have to be towed. Again, after the Trooper conducted an inventory search, a loaded .22 caliber pistol was discovered.
The operator of the BMW, 27-year-old Jose Cotto(who is not licensed to carry firearms) of Springfield was arrested and booked for numerous offenses.
Finally, the third arrest happened on Thursday, February 24, after a Trooper stopped a speeding gray Lexus SUV for going 90mph in a 55mph zone on Route 391 in Chicopee. Shortly thereafter, the Trooper discovered that the operator of the vehicle, 18-year-old Stefan Baulkman of Holyoke, did not have a driver's license.
After the Trooper removed Baulkman from the vehicle, a weapons-frisk was conducted and a loaded 9mm pistol was found in Baulkman's front pocket. Baulkman is also not licensed to carry. He was arrested and booked on numerous charges.
Nice job, Mass Staties, at getting those weapons off the streets! Keep up the good work. For more on the story, visit Mass State Police's Facebook page here.