Police Seized Guns, Pot Plants In Controversial Framingham Raid

FRAMINGHAM, MA — One day after a viral video prompted criticism of police for raiding a Prior Drive home without a search warrant, court documents showed that they eventually obtained one and confiscated 20 marijuana plants and several guns while executing it.

The video, posted Monday, showed Framingham and Natick police officers from the MetroWest Regional Drug Task Force demanding entry to the home during a raid Aug. 7. The lead officer told the homeowner that he did not have a warrant, but said one had been requested and that she must let him into the house in the meantime to "secure" the premises. She at first refused, the video shows, but relented after he threatened to break the door down.

On Tuesday, Framingham District Court released documents including the search warrant and a list of items confiscated in the raid.

According to the warrant, the investigation began when police received "numerous complaints" of visitors coming to the home briefly over a months-long period in a manner consistent with drug deals.

While watching the home Aug. 7, police stopped a car that had just made one such visit, according to the warrant said. The driver, a Wellesley man, waived his Miranda rights and told police he had just bought an ounce of marijuana at the Prior Drive house from "a kid named Gino," although he usually bought from a man named Ryan.

The man said he paid $200 in his last transaction, the warrant said, and that he had bought marijuana at the home "multiple times."

Police later followed a man who matched Gino's description when he left the house in a car, the warrant said. They stopped the man, identified as Gineto Callahan, who also waived his Miranda rights and admitted selling an ounce of marijuana to the Wellesley man.

Callahan also told police the $200 was inside, the warrant said, but denied there was a "grow" in the house.

Based on what they had learned from the two men, "We decided to secure the home at 47 Prior Drive and apply for a search warrant," the warrant said.

The document shows that a request for the warrant was submitted at 9:19 p.m. Aug. 7 and granted at 11:31 p.m.

Police eventually confiscated the marijuana plants, more than $1,500 in cash, marijuana distribution paraphernalia, several licensed guns and ammunition..

In the video, one of the officers threatened to shoot one of the family's dogs after it lunged at and apparently bit him.

There are exceptions to the Fourth Amendment prohibition against searches without a warrant, including emergency situations and cases where there is reason to believe evidence will be destroyed. But the exceptions are narrow ones, experts have said.

Framingham police did not respond to requests for comment about the raid, but Mayor Yvonne Spicer said an investigation is underway.

"In the best interest of everyone involved, we are thoroughly investigating the incident," she said.

The city issued a statement on behalf of the police department concerning the raid:

"On August 7, 2019 members of Natick and Framingham Police assigned to the Metrowest Drug Task Force applied for a search warrant in connection with an ongoing investigation into a Prior Drive residence in Framingham. Probable cause was found to issue the search warrant and officers subsequently executed it at the home. Pursuant to the investigation police have applied for criminal charges and a hearing is scheduled. As this is an ongoing and active investigation no additional information can be released at this time. "