A 64-year-old North Andover man was charged last week in federal court for allegedly being a convicted felon in possession of more than 30 firearms and explosives.
Daniel Medina was charged by criminal complaint with unlawful possession of a machine gun, unlawful possession of explosives as a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. As WHAV reported in July, Medina is currently in state custody on related charges and will appear in U.S. District Court in Boston at a later date.
Medina, of 59 Village Green Drive, North Andover, was previously charged by the state with five felony counts tied to being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing and improperly storing an automatic rifle and vandalizing property. He pled not guilty last July in Lawrence District Court.
According to court documents, police were dispatched July 1, to the area of Medina’s home after receiving a report of an explosion. Police found damage to two vehicles and a piece of mail addressed to Medina beneath the damaged rear passenger door of one vehicle. Prosecutors allege the damage and materials left behind are consistent with common items used in manufacturing homemade explosive devices, specifically ball bearings or shrapnel. They further allege witnesses observed Medina running from the damaged vehicles toward his home after the explosion.
After a search of Medina’s home the following day, police seized 32 firearms, including 12 rifles, 15 pistols, three shotguns and two antique firearms; 9,000 rounds of various calibers of modern ammunition manufactured outside of Massachusetts; 75 magazines for various caliber firearms; various firearm parts; a Glock switch device; books pertaining to the building of firearms and manufacturing of explosives and drugs; shrapnel accessories such as BBs and ball bearings; multiple firework containers; and various containers of powders produced and shipped in interstate commerce.
Prosecutors alleged the containers of powder contained potassium chlorate and aluminum powder—the same flash powder found in the suspected explosive material used for the prior day’s explosion.
Medina is prohibited from possessing firearms, ammunition and explosive material after he was convicted in 2002 for assault and battery in Lawrence District Court, for which he was sentenced to two and a half years in jail.