Police: Man holding tequila bottles pointed gun at victim

Mike LaBella, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·4 min read

Mar. 4—Police said the victim knew this was a dangerous mix: An angry man was holding three bottles of tequila under his arm and a pistol in his hand.

Worse, the man pointed the gun at the victim and threatened him, according to police.

Police said the incident in Haverhill led them to investigate the gunman — later identified as David Cash, 54, of 169 Morgan Drive, a man who is well known to local law enforcement officials because of past criminal cases against him.

Cash was arrested on firearms charges and is being held without bail. Police said that during a search of his home, they found several BB-gun rifles and a BB-gun pistol that resembles a real gun. They said they also found sealed packages of marijuana that had been prepared for sale, marked with their weight and price, and drug packaging materials and equipment.

Cash is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license in possession, unlicensed possession of ammunition, possession of a Class B drug (Suboxone) and possession to distribute a Class D drug (marijuana).

He was arraigned on the charges Feb. 8 in Haverhill District Court and ordered held without bail. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for March 3.

According to a police report on file in Haverhill District Court, a man told police on Feb. 5 that during a storm a three days earlier, he was shoveling snow at the Jefferson Estates condominium complex on Morgan Drive as part of his job working for a local landscaping company.

According to the report, the man said that during the storm on Feb. 2, he was shoveling snow around 1:30 a.m. in an area of the complex where police said Cash lives when a pickup truck passed dangerously close to him, only about a foot away. The man said he was with one of his co-workers at the time.

The man told police the pickup truck driver, later identified as Cash by police, backed up the vehicle, began playing his stereo loudly for several minutes, then got out of the truck and walked toward the men while holding three bottles of tequila in one arm and a black pistol in his hand, according to the report.

The man said Cash pointed the gun at him and asked if he was considering robbing his home, according to the report. The man also told police that Cash appeared to be drunk. Cash then walked away from the men and entered the building where police said Cash lives, according to the report.

The man told police the reason he did not report the incident immediately was because he wanted to notify his supervisor first.

Police said they are familiar with Cash, whom they recognized from "previous in-house bookings and interactions" involving criminal cases.

Police said that on Feb. 6, they obtained an arrest warrant for Cash. They also got a search warrant for 169 Morgan Drive, where he lives, and for the 2007 Ford F-150 pickup truck police said Cash was driving.

The day they got the warrants, detectives approached Cash as he was getting into the pickup truck, police said. When told about the charges against him, Cash told police he doesn't own any guns, just "BB guns," the report said. He was arrested and taken to the police station.

Police entered the unit where Cash lives and spoke with the homeowner, who told them Cash has lived there for seven years, according to the police report. The homeowner said Cash uses the ground-level basement and garage, and stays in the front bedroom, according to the report.

Police said they found several BB-gun air-powered rifles in the basement. They said they also found a BB-gun pistol with a removable magazine and an open bottle of tequila. Officers found a second open bottle of tequila on a shelf, the report said.

Police said an open safe in the basement contained $344 in cash, which they seized as proceeds of what they believed were drug sales. The safe also contained valuable coins and collectibles, according to the report.

Police said a search of Cash's bedroom turned up a prescription bottle containing several Suboxone strips. Suboxone is used to treat people who are addicted to opioids like heroin, morphine, oxycodone or codeine. In the bedroom, officers also found a reusable shopping bag filled with the sealed packages of marijuana marked with weight and price, plus drug packaging materials and equipment.

During questioning at the police station, Cash told officers that the Suboxone strips belonged to a friend who has stayed with him in the past, the police report said. According to the report, Cash said he believed it is no longer against the law to possess marijuana because use of the drug has become legal in Massachusetts. He explained that he had only a limited amount of the drug — about one and a half pounds, police said.

Police said Cash denied allegations that he pointed a gun at another person in the early morning of Feb. 2. He also told police that he didn't own a gun and did not have any altercations that day, according to the report.