Crime & Safety

Winchester Firefighter Arrested on Weapons Charges

John Travers was arrested on Friday on weapons charges and placed on paid administrative leave.

Winchester Firefighter, John Travers, was arrested on Friday, Feb. 11. A gun he owned was used to commit a Boston crime.

According to Lt. Peter MacDonnell of the , Travers, 33, was arrested and charged with illegal possession of a gun without a license and possession of ammunition without a license. Travers was released Friday on bail.

“We’re disappointed about the charges and allegations against Travers,” Fire Chief John Nash said.

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According to Nash, the has placed Travers on paid administrative leave pending an investigation and hearing by the fire department. Nash said the hearing should take place quickly, although no date and time has been set.

After the hearing, the Winchester Fire Department will then make a decision on Travers future with the department.

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Travers has been with the department since 2005.

According to MacDonnell, in June, 2010 the Winchester Police removed 15 guns (nine handguns and six rifles) from Travers’ Swanton Street home because of a restraining order issued against him.

Then last week the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) informed the Winchester Police they wanted to speak with Travers about a gun they recovered in a Boston crime that was registered to him.

“We took his guns in June, but it was unbeknownst to us at the time that he had more weapons,” MacDonnell said. “And the ATF wanted to know how that gun got into the hands of a criminal.”

There were two weapons Travers never turned in – the one used in the Boston crime and another weapon that had yet been recovered. Travers told Winchester Police he sold six weapons to the Four Seasons gun store in Woburn; however, the store only had Travers selling them four weapons.

On Friday, Winchester Police, along with a member of the ATF, executed a search warrant at Travers’ home where they found the second gun.

“We needed to find that other gun, that was our main concern,” MacDonnell said.

Travers is currently waiting for his next court date.


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