A suspended Massachusetts State Police trooper currently in jail is now at the center of a criminal investigation involving the alleged sale of a decommissioned State Police service weapon, according to multiple sources who spoke to 25 Investigates.
Trooper Michael Gagnon is being held at the Plymouth County Jail after being arrested twice in six months, once in November for allegedly hitting a 7-year-old in the face and again in April on a wiretapping allegation.
According to court documents, Gagnon is accused of hacking the Ring cameras at his estranged wife’s house to spy on her and her father. He has pleaded not guilty to all allegations and claims innocence.
Now, 25 Investigates has uncovered that federal authorities have been looking into Gagnon. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the US Treasury Department are investigating a weapon transfer linked to a major State Police gun trade-in program.
On Tuesday, November 25, Plympton Police arrested Gagnon on a domestic violence complaint. Following the arrest, Plympton police seized four firearms and 341 rounds of ammunition. According to court filings, the firearms included a Glock 22, a Sig Sauer Mosquito, a Smith & Wesson M&P .40 caliber, and a Smith & Wesson M&P .45.
Two sources briefed on the government investigation said Gagnon purchased two. 45-caliber Smith & Wesson handguns from a Westwood gun dealer.
Bill Moran, Gagnon’s estranged father-in-law, flew up from Florida to meet with ATF and Treasury officers at his daughter’s home about the pistol. Moran claims the meeting took place on March 10, one of the days Gagnon is suspected of deploying Ring cameras to eavesdrop on the home.
The firearm at the center of the investigation is unique. It features an etching of the Massachusetts State Police and the agency’s official seal. The rifle was one of many thousands of retired Smith & Wesson firearms. The State Police traded 45s to a gun dealer when they transitioned to a new standard-issue duty weapon. The enormous trade-in deal resulted in a credit of more than $683,000 to help cover the purchase of new firearms for the department.
Moran added that the three-hour discussion with federal investigators was focused on tracking down one of the engraved firearms, which Moran and a law enforcement source believe moved from Michael Gagnon to Dana Smith. Smith is a former Plympton police officer and vice chairman of the Plympton Board of Selectmen.
Authorities are investigating if Trooper Gagnon served as a middleman in a “straw purchase” to deliver the pistol to Smith. Illegal straw sales are a federal felony punishable by up to 15 years in jail.
When asked for comment on the investigation, the ATF simply stated that it “cannot offer any comment at this time.”
Gagnon’s defense attorney did not return two emails. A lawyer for Dana Smith responded but declined to comment, claiming a lack of details regarding the investigation.
“If a crime occurred,” Moran states, “it should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”
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