SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

Local News

February 20, 2008

Danvers man held after gun incident

DANVERS — A man who allegedly pointed a gun at a woman and then fired it into a wall on Pickering Street on Sunday night was ordered held without bail until a hearing to determine whether he poses a danger to the public.

Kurt Mason, 24, of 371/2 Pickering St., Danvers, already had charges in two other domestic abuse cases pending against him when police were called around 7:30 p.m. by a woman who said she had been threatened with a handgun.

Danvers police quickly obtained a search warrant and went to the house, where they found a . 32-caliber handgun, ammunition and cocaine, Capt. Ed Plamowski said. Mason was arrested shortly after 9 p.m.

Mason pleaded not guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon, possessing a gun and ammunition without a license, discharging a weapon within 500 feet of a building, improper storage of a firearm, and possession of a class B substance.

The woman told police that she had gone to Mason's home about an hour earlier to ask for the return of $1,000 she had loaned him while they were dating.

She said that when she confronted him in the basement of his home, where he lives with his parents, he called her expletives and said he wasn't going to repay her, prosecutor Jennifer Andrade said.

He pointed a gun at her, she told police, then aimed it at a wall and fired.

Lawyer Steve Reardon said his client denies that anything happened and noted that Mason's father was in the home and said he did not hear anything.

Police found evidence that a gun had been fired in the house, Andrade told Judge Dunbar Livingston, who granted her request to hold Mason without bail. He also scheduled a hearing on whether Mason's bail will be revoked in two other cases. In one case, Mason was charged with assaulting his parents and then struggling with police officers when they arrived. In another, a woman he had been dating reported that he had grabbed her during an argument and took her keys and cell phone to prevent her from leaving.

Nearly the entire shift of Danvers police was involved in the investigation, which also brought Chief Neil Ouilette in, Plamowski said. The officers included Detective Steve Baldassare; Sgt. Kevin Janvrin; Lt. Carole Germano; Patrolmen Craig Labastie, Stephen McDonald, Robert Hines, Robert Sullivan and Greg Lebron; and two Peabody police officers.

A dangerousness hearing will be held tomorrow. If a judge finds him a danger, Mason could be held without bail until trial.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

North Shore News Updates on Twitter
Stories Shared on Facebook
AP Video
Police: Gunman Kills 5, Self in Seattle Spelling Bee's Youngest Ever Doesn't Advance Police: Seattle Cafe Gunman May Have Shot Self No Limits for Disabled Hunters at Mich. Base Victim Identified in Fla. Face-chewing Attack Radioactive Bluefin Tuna Crossed the Pacific 90 Guns Seized, Dozens Arrested in Oakland Raw Video: Hail Storm Batters Oklahoma City 6-Year-Old Going to National Spelling Bee California's Foie Gras Ban About to Begin Video Essay: Funky Winkerbean Comic Turns 40 Hurricane Andrew Remembered, 20 Years Later Judge's Ruling Halts Tenn. Mosque Construction Romney in Las Vegas on Texas Primary Day Sister Says She Reported Brother in Patz Killing Even Fla. Police Shocked by Face-Mauling Attack Angry Birds Spreading Their Wings
Comments Tracker