New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
DARTMOUTH, MA – On Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at approximately 2:50 a.m., Officer Matthew DESROSIERS conducted a motor vehicle stop on State Road on an unregistered Infiniti. Upon conducting a query on the license of the operator, subsequently identified as Mark JOHNSON, 32, of Fair Street, New Bedford, it was learned that it was currently suspended.
After JOHNSON was placed under arrest for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, an inventory search of the Infiniti was conducted, during which time a loaded 45 caliber semi-automatic pistol with a defaced serial number was located in the glovebox.
After further inquiries on the pistol were conducted, it was learned that it had been stolen out of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and that JOHNSON’s license to carry a firearm in Massachusetts was currently suspended.
Based on the collective facts associated with this incident, JOHNSON was charged with carrying a loaded firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a firearms identification card, carrying a firearm without a license, improper storage of a firearm, receiving a firearm with a defaced serial number, receiving stolen property (firearm), operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, miscellaneous motor equipment violations.
According to Chief Brian P. LEVESQUE, “In a society currently inundated with gun violence, I am thrilled that my officer was able to take this individual, as well as the stolen firearm that he was illegally carrying off of the streets before they could be nefariously used.”
