Haverhill man who once waved gun at family members faces more firearms charges

Mike LaBella, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.

Feb. 23—HAVERHILL — A Haverhill man who was ordered by a judge to attend intensive behavioral treatment after threatening his family with a gun in 2017 is facing new gun charges.

John Cameron, 29, of 31 Iris Way, was charged on Feb. 18 with larceny of a firearm, carrying a firearm without a license, possession of ammunition without a license and malicious destruction of property.

He was arraigned on the charges in Haverhill District Court, where Judge Cesar Archilla set bail at $10,000 cash.

A pretrial hearing was scheduled for March 18.

According to a police report on file in Haverhill District Court, on Feb 17 at 2:21 p.m., Tamsin Cameron of 31 Iris Way, told police that her gun safe had been pried open and a .38-caliber Smith & Wesson pistol was missing, along with one loaded magazine.

Cameron told police the safe was in a closet in her finished basement, where her son John Cameron lives, and that she believed he was responsible for stealing the gun because in the past he had been charged with stealing guns from his father, according to the police report.

Tamsin Cameron told police that her son knows she keeps guns in the safe, the report said.

She also told police that her son had been acting strange lately and that his behavior was similar to when he was last charged with stealing guns, according to the police report. She said his recent behavior may be due to drug abuse, the report said.

Police said they advised Cameron of her right to seek a restraining order against her son, and she told police she would immediately file the necessary paperwork at Haverhill District Court because she was in fear of him, the report said.

During an investigation into the missing gun incident, Cameron told police that several days earlier she had removed a Glock pistol from the safe and sold the gun to a firearms dealer. She said the only gun left in the safe was her Smith & Wesson.

She told police that when her son found out she sold the Glock, he became angry at her.

Police obtained an arrest warrant for John Cameron and on Feb. 17 at 5:57 p.m. found him at his home and arrested him.

The incident that led to Cameron's arrest in 2017 involved guns left in a car. According to a police report, on Oct. 24 of that year police were sent to Concord Street on a report of a vehicle with two flat tires and a Maine registration that was left parked on the side of the road overnight.

Police said they found a loaded Winchester model 250 rifle and a Springfield model 1898 rifle on car's back seat. They said that inside the car they also found John Cameron's driver's license and license to carry firearms, along with various calibers of ammunition.

Because of what they discovered in the car, police notified Cameron they would summons him to court.

The next day, just after 5:30 p.m., police were sent to 31 Iris Way on a report of a family disturbance.

Police said they entered the basement of the home and found Cameron's father on top of his son, holding him down. John Cameron stood up and did not struggle as police placed him in handcuffs, according to a police report.

The father told police that after he and other family members went into the basement to ask John Cameron why he was acting different lately, he began waving around a Smith & Wesson pistol. The family managed to talk him into giving the gun to them, police said. The father told police that his son then pulled out another gun, a Colt Python .357 Magnum, which he said his son also began waving around.

The father said his son pointed the gun toward the floor and they heard a loud bang.

Police said they confiscated a shotgun, two rifles, three handguns and miscellaneous ammunition along with brass knuckles and nunchucks from the home.

On Dec. 12, 2017, John Cameron pleaded guilty to one count of leaving a loaded rifle in a motor vehicle, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of improper storage of firearms.

A judge sentenced him to 18 months in jail, with 30 days to be served and the balance suspended during probation. Cameron was credited with more than 40 days served.

Cameron was also ordered to enter intensive outpatient treatment, remain drug and alcohol free, abide by a 7 p.m. curfew, remain at his mother's house at 31 Iris Way and have no guns in the home.

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