Gunshot Injury Leads to Discovery of Five Ghost Guns
BOSTON, August 19, 2022—A West Roxbury man was arraigned today on charges he possessed a cache of illegal weapons – including five ghost guns, District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
JAMES THELWELL-MULLEN, 29, of West Roxbury was arraigned today in the West Roxbury Division of the Boston Municipal Court on five counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, seven counts of possession of a high capacity feeding device and one count each of discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a building, unlawful possession of ammunition and possession of a Class A substance.
Assistant District Attorney Emerson Pena requested bail of $75,000 and orders that Thelwell-Mullen be subject to home confinement and GPS monitoring in the event he is to be released on bail. Judge Paul Treseler imposed $25,000 bail and declined to impose the requested conditions of release.
On August 15, Boston Police responded to the Veterans Administration Medical Center in West Roxbury, where Thelwell-Mullen had shown up with a gunshot wound to the hand. He allegedly made statements to medical staff that his father accidentally shot him while cleaning a firearm inside a vehicle. He was transported to Brigham & Women’s Hospital for further treatment. There, officers spoke with Thelwell-Mullen in order to investigate the incident in which he was shot. He was uncooperative and claimed that he could not remember what had happened.
Police conducted a protective sweep of Thelwell-Mullen’s residence. Officers observed blood stains on the floor of a bedroom and hallway, clothing with blood stains, an empty gun holster on a bed, a spent shell casing and a magazine. Thelwell-Mullen does not possess a firearm license.
A subsequent search pursuant to a search warrant led to the recovery of five firearms with no make or serial number. They also located a total of seven large capacity magazines – three capable of holding at least 10 rounds of ammunition, three capable of holding up to 30 rounds and one magazine with a capacity of 31 rounds of ammunition. In addition, police located loose ammunition and a bag containing a white powdery substance, furniture damaged by gunfire and a slug recovered from a trash can.
“The firepower that this man had at his fingertips should horrify all of us. Our communities deserve better than the constant terror of knowing that illegal guns are in their communities, putting their lives and their loved ones at risk. This individual and others who possess stockpiles of illegal weapons and those who traffic these weapons into our communities will be held accountable,” Hayden said.
Thelwell-Mullen is represented by Attorney Thomas Karp. He returns to court September 20, 2022.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal legal system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.