A Boston man with a history of gun violations is headed back to the big house after pleading guilty to his fourth illegal firearm charge, Suffolk County's top prosecutor said on December 12. Jason Meeks, 42, from Dorchester, saw the inside of a courtroom briefly before trading it for the confines of a state prison, accepting a sentence of five to seven years behind bars.
According to a statement from District Attorney Kevin Hayden, obtained by the Suffolk District Attorney's Office website, law enforcement tied Meeks to a firearm on July 3, the previous year. Boston police, investigating a shooting incident in Roxbury, chanced upon Meeks's car, a dark blue Volkswagen Jetta, cruising without headlights or taillights in the dead of night.
Meeks's rap sheet, which includes three prior convictions for carrying guns illegally, didn't sway Suffolk Superior Court Judge Anthony Campo from doling out a stiff sentence. The man, having skirted the commencement of his trial, entered his plea with the jury waiting in the wings to hear the case against him.
Officers not only noticed a significant quantity of blood detailing Meeks's vehicle but, after a stop and subsequent medical transport due to his own injuries sustained via gunshot, they uncovered a bloodied Smith and Wesson 9mm. handgun in his car. Missing its magazine, the gun matched additional evidence found at the initial crime scene like a glove—a separate eight-round magazine, housing six bullets compatible with the firearm, and two shell casings left discarded on the street.
While the Dorchester man's past includes serving time for manslaughter back in 2007, this latest sentence is a clear-cut example of the consequences awaiting those who choose to sidestep the laws governing firearm possession in Boston.
