DA Petitions Mass. SJC To Reconsider Vacated Conviction Of Jonathan Villagran

WATERTOWN, MA – Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey is petitioning the state's supreme judicial court to reconsider its decision vacating the conviction of a Watertown man arrested for gun possession at Milton High School in 2015.

The state's highest court in August overturned a weapons conviction against Jonathan Villagran, ruling that officers did not have the probable cause needed to search him. Morrissey's petition argues that the search, during which police found the gun, may not have been "unreasonable."

"The 4th Amendment does not bar all searches, only unreasonable searches," Morrissey said in a release. "The SJC’s ruling states explicitly that the court found these circumstances to be a ‘close call.’ As our petition elaborates, we believe there is room for additional analysis of the facts here. In light of the important repercussions to school safety, we believe that is warranted and hope the Supreme Judicial Court agrees."

On March 25, 2015, police responded to a report of a suspicious man outside of Milton High School. Villagran, then 19, first told an administrator he was a student who wanted access to his locker and then that he wanted to use the bathroom. School officials became suspicious as Villagran, who did not attend Milton High School, left the school building but remained on the property. He was brought into a conference room for questioning and school officials alerted the police.

Villagran smelled of marijuana and alcohol and told school administrators he was there to meet a girl, according to the decision. When Milton police sergeant Kristen Murphy arrived, she noted that the principal and vice principal of the school appeared to be "rattled" and the principal told the police officer, "He has something on him. I know he has something on him."

Murphy conducted a pat frisk of Villagran's pockets, turning up a bag of marijuana and a wad of nearly $3,000, according to the decision. When Murphy felt Villagran's backpack, she detected a hard object and looked inside where she discovered a loaded handgun along with a bottle of alcohol, another bag of pot and a scale, the decision stated.

The school was placed on lockdown and about 20 Milton police officers responded to the situation.

Villagram was originally convicted of carrying a firearm without a license, carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds, possession of a firearm without a firearm identification card, disturbing a school, and possession of a Class D substance with intent to distribute.

In addition to petitioning the SJC, Morrissey's office is working with legislators to create new laws recognizing the special safety considerations of school buildings.

"We have met with Sen. Timilty and spoken with Milton state Rep. William Driscoll," Morrissey said. "We have found precedent in existing law for creating specific security expectations for sensitive locations such as Logan Airport. Schools can obviously be seen as sensitive locations."

New legislation would expand the latitude granted to school officials to search on school grounds to also include police officers.

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