Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G (2026)

Violations of Sec. 10 by persons previously convicted of violent crimes or serious drug offenses; punishment

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 10G. (a) Whoever, having been previously convicted of a violent crime or of a serious drug offense, both as defined herein, violates the provisions of paragraph (a), (c) or (h) of section 10 shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than three years nor more than 15 years.

(b) Whoever, having been previously convicted of two violent crimes, or two serious drug offenses or one violent crime and one serious drug offense, arising from separate incidences, violates the provisions of said paragraph (a), (c) or (h) of said section 10 shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than ten years nor more than 15 years.

(c) Whoever, having been previously convicted of three violent crimes or three serious drug offenses, or any combination thereof totaling three, arising from separate incidences, violates the provisions of said paragraph (a), (c) or (h) of said section 10 shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 15 years nor more than 20 years.

(d) The sentences imposed upon such persons shall not be reduced to less than the minimum, nor suspended, nor shall persons convicted under this section be eligible for probation, parole, furlough, work release or receive any deduction from such sentence for good conduct until such person shall have served the minimum number of years of such sentence; provided, however, that the commissioner of correction may, on the recommendation of the warden, superintendent or other person in charge of a correctional institution or the administrator of a county correctional institution, grant to such offender a temporary release in the custody of an officer of such institution for the following purposes only: (i) to attend the funeral of a spouse or next of kin; (ii) to visit a critically ill close relative or spouse; or (iii) to obtain emergency medical services unavailable at such institution. Prosecutions commenced under this section shall neither be continued without a finding nor placed on file. The provisions of section 87 of chapter 276 relative to the power of the court to place certain offenders on probation shall not apply to any person 18 years of age or over charged with a violation of this section.

(e) For the purposes of this section, ''violent crime'' shall have the meaning set forth in section 121 of chapter 140. For the purposes of this section, ''serious drug offense'' shall mean an offense under the federal Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 801, et seq., the federal Controlled Substances Import and Export Act, 21 U.S.C. 951, et seq. or the federal Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act, 46 U.S.C. App. 1901, et seq. for which a maximum term of imprisonment for ten years or more is prescribed by law, or an offense under chapter 94C involving the manufacture, distribution or possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance, as defined in section 1 of said chapter 94C, for which a maximum term of ten years or more is prescribed by law.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 140 cases (39 in the last 5 years), 2002–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Anderson, 963 N.E.2d 704 (Mass. 2012).
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Commonwealth v. Anderson, 963 N.E.2d 704 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 12× “265, § 21A, the jury found that the defendant was an armed career criminal, level three, in violation of G. L. c. 269, § 10G (c), and therefore subject to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of fifteen years for his illegal carrying of a firearm.”
Commonwealth v. Resende, 52 N.E.3d 1016 (Mass. 2016). · cites it 9× “In a jury-waived trial in June, 2014, a Superior Court judge found the defendant, Admilson Resende, guilty of several firearms offenses, each of which had 2 associated with it an armed career criminal sentence enhancement charge under G. L. c. 269, § 10G (§ 10G), the…”
Commonwealth v. Colon, 958 N.E.2d 56 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 15× “269, § 10G(c), as an armed career criminal based on three predicate violent crimes and remand for his resentencing as an armed career criminal based on two predicate violent crimes, G.”
Commonwealth v. Wentworth, 128 N.E.3d 14 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 13× “**665 This case presents an opportunity to clarify the application of the Massachusetts armed career criminal act (ACCA), G. L. c. 269, § 10G. Specifically, we address whether the "modified categorical approach," as discussed in our recent cases, is the appropriate analytical…”
Commonwealth v. Eberhart, 965 N.E.2d 791 (Mass. 2012). · cites it 6× “3 The indictments charging unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition further alleged that the defendant previously had been convicted of three violent crimes or serious drug offenses, thus subjecting him to enhanced sentencing as an armed career…”
Scione v. Commonwealth Commonwealth v. Barnes, 114 N.E.3d 74 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 8× “272, §§ 77, 94], or arrested and charged with a violation of [G.”
Commonwealth v. Franky Perez., 100 Mass. App. Ct. 7 (Mass. App. Ct. 2021). · cites it 16× “The Massachusetts version of the armed career criminal act (ACCA), G. L. c. 269, § 10G, provides for enhanced sentences for certain firearm offenses, where the Commonwealth also shows that the defendant has been "previously convicted of" one or more "violent crime[s].”
Commonwealth v. Beal, 52 N.E.3d 998 (Mass. 2016). · cites it 4× “2 The indictments charging unlawful possession of a firearm also alleged that the defendant previously had been convicted of two violent crimes and thus was subject to enhanced penalties under the Massachusetts armed career criminal act, G. L. c. 269, § 10G (ACCA). In a separate…”
Commonwealth v. Furr, 788 N.E.2d 592 (Mass. App. Ct. 2003). · cites it 9× “Whether a prior adjudication as a youthful offender is a basis for invoking the enhanced penalties provisions of G. L. c. 269, § 10G. Section 10G(a), which is prototypical of the enhanced penalties in the statute, provides: “Whoever, having been previously convicted of a violent…”
Commonwealth v. Rezendes, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 369 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). · cites it 14× “This case requires us to consider the meaning of “violent crime” as used in the Massachusetts Armed Career Criminal Act (Massachusetts ACCA or statute), G. L. c. 269, § 10G, inserted by St. 1998, c.”
Commonwealth v. Mora, 77 N.E.3d 298 (Mass. 2017). · cites it 5× “Two of those charges included sentence enhancement as an armed career criminal pursuant to G. L. c. 269, § 10G (b). We conclude that the search warrant that yielded the gun, a magazine, and ammunition lacked probable cause and that the Commonwealth failed to present sufficient…”
Commonwealth v. Baez, 104 N.E.3d 646 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 9× “2 If convicted, and if he had no qualifying convictions for sentence enhancement, he would "be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two and one-half years nor more than five years, or for not less than [eighteen] **329 months nor more than two and…”
Show all 140 citing cases →
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(6) — 2 cases
Commonwealth v. Colon, 958 N.E.2d 56 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). “269, § 10G(c), as an armed career criminal based on three predicate violent crimes and remand for his resentencing as an armed career criminal based on two predicate violent crimes, G.”
Commonwealth v. Velez, 969 N.E.2d 1142 (Mass. App. Ct. 2012).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(a) — 13 cases
Commonwealth v. Colon, 958 N.E.2d 56 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). “269, § 10G(c), as an armed career criminal based on three predicate violent crimes and remand for his resentencing as an armed career criminal based on two predicate violent crimes, G.”
Commonwealth v. Ware, 913 N.E.2d 869 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009).
Furr v. Brady, 440 F.3d 34 (1st Cir. 2006).
Commonwealth v. Brown, 915 N.E.2d 252 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009).
Commonwealth v. Foreman, 830 N.E.2d 219 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(b) — 5 cases
Commonwealth v. Rezendes, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 369 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “This case requires us to consider the meaning of “violent crime” as used in the Massachusetts Armed Career Criminal Act (Massachusetts ACCA or statute), G. L. c. 269, § 10G, inserted by St. 1998, c.”
Commonwealth v. Morales, 884 N.E.2d 546 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008).
Commonwealth v. Holmes, 989 N.E.2d 545 (Mass. App. Ct. 2013).
Ware v. Dickhaut, 770 F. Supp. 2d 417 (D. Mass. 2010).
Commonwealth v. Widener (Mass. App. Ct. 2017).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(bn) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Holmes, 989 N.E.2d 545 (Mass. App. Ct. 2013).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(c) — 11 cases
Commonwealth v. Colon, 958 N.E.2d 56 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). “269, § 10G(c), as an armed career criminal based on three predicate violent crimes and remand for his resentencing as an armed career criminal based on two predicate violent crimes, G.”
Commonwealth v. Maldonado, 771 N.E.2d 221 (Mass. App. Ct. 2002).
Commonwealth v. Williams, 89 Mass. App. Ct. 383 (Mass. App. Ct. 2016).
Commonwealth v. Rezendes, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 369 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “This case requires us to consider the meaning of “violent crime” as used in the Massachusetts Armed Career Criminal Act (Massachusetts ACCA or statute), G. L. c. 269, § 10G, inserted by St. 1998, c.”
Commonwealth v. Holmes, 989 N.E.2d 545 (Mass. App. Ct. 2013).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(d) — 1 case
Fisher v. Kew (D. Mass. 2019).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(e) — 7 cases
Commonwealth v. Colon, 958 N.E.2d 56 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). “269, § 10G(c), as an armed career criminal based on three predicate violent crimes and remand for his resentencing as an armed career criminal based on two predicate violent crimes, G.”
Commonwealth v. Ware, 913 N.E.2d 869 (Mass. App. Ct. 2009).
Commonwealth v. Rezendes, 88 Mass. App. Ct. 369 (Mass. App. Ct. 2015). “This case requires us to consider the meaning of “violent crime” as used in the Massachusetts Armed Career Criminal Act (Massachusetts ACCA or statute), G. L. c. 269, § 10G, inserted by St. 1998, c.”
Ware v. Dickhaut, 439 F. App'x 14 (1st Cir. 2011).
Commonwealth v. Widener (Mass. App. Ct. 2017).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(s) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Charles, 959 N.E.2d 994 (Mass. App. Ct. 2012).
— Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 269, § 10G(ti) — 1 case
Commonwealth v. Ocasio, 882 N.E.2d 341 (Mass. App. Ct. 2008).
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