NEWS

Newton fist fight leaves two down and facing charges

Staff report

NEWTON – A teenager is facing firearms charges after a fist fight that left both participants on the ground, police said.

At 1:50 a.m. on Saturday, police responded to the rear parking lot of Merriam Gateway Apartments on Sparta Avenue for a report of a fight in progress.

Witnesses told police that there had been a physical fight between a 16 year old, whose name is being withheld because he is a juvenile, and 19-year-old Brandon Weller of Newton.

Weller and the teen were both present at the scene, lying in the parking lot and complaining of pain as a result of the fight, police said.

Officers noticed a .357 magnum revolver in the juvenile’s waistband so the gun was immediately seized and secured, police said.

Police later confirmed that the firearm was legally owned by the juvenile's father and had been taken from a locked vault by the youth without his father’s knowledge or consent. The weapon was not displayed or used in the fight, police said.

The officers were told that the two had been drinking together before the fight broke out, police said.

Witnesses at the scene confirmed that both males were mutually fighting with each other prior to patrols arrival on scene and appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, police said.

As a result, Weller was charged with simple assault and then released on his own recognizance.

The juvenile was treated at Newton Medical Center and then released. He was charged with theft of a firearm, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of prohibited bullets and simple assault.