A 65-year-old North Andover man was recently sentenced to a little more than five years in prison, stemming from an explosion last July near the man’s home.
Daniel Medina was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 63 months in prison which is to be followed by three years of supervised release. Last December, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a machine gun, unlawful possession of explosive materials and felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.
Last July 1, police were dispatched to the area of Medina’s home after receiving a report of an explosion. Upon arrival, police found damage to two vehicles and a piece of mail addressed to Medina beneath the damaged rear passenger door of one vehicle. The damage to the vehicles and materials left behind were consistent with common items used in manufacturing homemade explosive devices, specifically ball bearings or shrapnel. Witnesses said they saw Medina running from the damaged vehicles toward his residence following the explosion.
During a search of Medina’s home, investigators recovered more than 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 containers of Potassium chlorate and aluminum powders.