Court Upholds Mass. Man's Conviction On Grenades, Weapons Charges

CONCORD, NH — A Massachusetts man sentenced to a quarter of a century in prison on weapons charges after obtaining a rifle, handgun, and grenades in New Hampshire, to kill people in the Bay State, has lost an appeal to have his conviction overturned.

Edward McLarnon, 72, previously of Malden, MA, who is currently serving 25 years in prison on the charges, lost a First Circuit Court of Appeals decision on Thursday.

McLarnon, in October 2015, met with a person he thought was an arms dealer to purchase weapons he was going to use to kill his ex-wife, a federal judge out of Boston, and former Massachusetts attorney general, Martha Coakley. In Chichester, he paid $700 for an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle, a .22 caliber pistol, a silencer, ammunition, and two hand grenades to the dealer who was actually an undercover FBI agent. A month later, he received the weapons at a rest stop in Seabrook. McLarnon was convicted in January 2018 in U.S. District Court in Concord.

"This defendant's dangerous plot could have resulted in multiple deaths," said Acting U.S. Attorney John Farley. "Now that his appeal has been unsuccessful, he will remain incarcerated where he can no longer pose a danger to the community."

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