Suspended Massachusetts State Trooper at Center of Federal Gun Investigation

Plymouth county MA-A suspended Massachusetts State Police trooper already facing multiple criminal charges is now the focus of a federal investigation involving the alleged transfer of a former State Police service weapon.

Trooper Michael Gagnon, who is currently being held at the Plymouth County Jail, has been arrested twice within the past six months. He was first charged in November after authorities alleged he punched a 7-year-old child in the face. He was later arrested again in April on a wiretapping charge.

According to court documents, investigators accuse Gagnon of accessing Ring security cameras at his estranged wife’s home without permission and using them to monitor her and her father. Gagnon has pleaded not guilty to all charges and continues to deny any wrongdoing.

Now federal investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the U.S. Treasury Department are examining a firearm transfer connected to a large Massachusetts State Police gun trade-in program.

Police records show that when Gagnon was arrested in November, officers seized four firearms and more than 300 rounds of ammunition from his possession. The firearms included multiple Smith & Wesson handguns as well as other weapons.

Sources familiar with the investigation claim Gagnon purchased two .45 caliber Smith & Wesson handguns through a gun dealer in Westwood. One of those firearms reportedly carried Massachusetts State Police markings and was part of a batch of decommissioned service weapons traded in when the department upgraded its standard-issue firearms.

The trade-in program involved thousands of retired State Police weapons and generated more than $683,000 in credit toward replacement firearms.

Investigators are reportedly trying to determine whether Gagnon acted as a middleman in what is known as a “straw purchase,” where a firearm is bought on behalf of another person. Federal law considers illegal straw purchases a serious offense that can carry significant prison penalties.

The investigation has also drawn attention to Dana Smith, a former Plympton police officer and current Vice Chair of the Plympton Board of Selectmen. Authorities are reviewing whether one of the decommissioned firearms was transferred to Smith through an improper process. No criminal charges related to the firearm investigation have been announced at this time.

Federal agencies have declined to comment on the ongoing investigation. Attorneys connected to those involved have either not responded or declined to discuss the matter.

The investigation remains active, and no findings have yet been announced by federal authorities.

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