Huot takes Hells Angels gun permit request under advisement

Police Chief Tom Oetinger told Laconia District Court Judge David Huot yesterday the only reason he has denied Dana Keefe a permit to carry a concealed gun is because his predecessor had done the same thing in 2000 and 2001. And Chief Bill Baker's decision had been sustained upon an appeal to Judge Michael Sullivan.

"When I saw that (letter) in his file I stopped," said Oetinger, indicating he did no further investigation into Keefe's personal background.

Keefe, a Laconia resident, was in court asking Huot to overturn Oetinger's May decision on the grounds he had no legal basis for the denial. Under NH law cities and towns are given authority to regulate permits but there is a specific list of criteria to be used in making a determination as to whether or not a person is fit to have one.

After listening to arguments for a half-hour or so, Huot said he would take the matter under advisement and mail his written decision to both parties.

Keefe's case has attracted more than the usual amount of attention because he is a member of the New Hampshire chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. Security at the courthouse had been noticeably beefed-up for Keefe's appearance.

Asked by Keefe's attorney, Scott Bratton, if he was aware that the applicant was a Hells Angels member, Oetinger replied, "That's obvious", because Keefe was wearing his club "colors" in the courtroom.

The chief, however, insisted that Keefe's affiliation with Hells Angels had nothing to do with the denial. He said he remembered approving a concealed weapons permit for another member of the same club a year or two ago.

What no one seemed to remember — or produce any record of — was the grounds Baker used for denying Keefe a permit five years ago. Or, what "findings of fact" Justice Sullivan used to uphold the denial. No evidence along those lines was introduced at yesterday's hearing.

Oetinger outlined the normal criteria under which an applicant could be denied a special permit and agreed with Bratton that Keefe had no criminal record. The chief also said he was also not aware of any history of domestic violence, mental illness or substance abuse, but cautioned no investigation was done into the later areas because the earlier denials.

"Based on the information that was in front of me", Oetinger confirmed he would have had no reason to deny Keefe a permit without the letters from Baker and Sullivan he found in the file.

City Prosecutor Jim Sawyer argued that it would have been "inappropriate for the chief to have taken any action that was contrary" to Sullivan's decision.

"For how long?" asked Huot. "Is he never eligible?. . .We don't even know why (he was denied)."

Bratton told Huot he need only "read between the lines" to know that his client had been denied a permit because of his affiliation with Hells Angels. He referenced a case in Salem District Court, earlier this year, where Judge Michael Jones ruled a Hells Angels member could not be denied a permit on those grounds alone because belonging to a motorcycle club "is not a crime".

Salem Police Chief Paul Donovan offered to share police intelligence information about Hells Angels with the judge but because he would not do so in open court the judge rejected the offer.

Keefe has asked that attorney fees be included in a favorable judgment in his behalf but Sawyer told Huot the applicant was not eligible for such compensation because Oetinger had procedurally followed the letter of the law in responding to Keefe's application.