Staff writer
A total of 12 charges brought Monday against Matthew Kangas of Peabody brought the total number of charges filed against him in the past 12 months to 30, yet he walked free Friday on $25,000 bond.
The litany of court and prosecutorial actions illustrate the challenges of navigating the court system. Kangas has been found guilty but is yet to be sentenced on any of the prior cases against him.
Kangas was charged Monday with aggravated burglary, aggravated assault of an officer, domestic battery, damage to property and five counts of aggravated child endangerment, all stemming from a March 15 domestic incident in Peabody.
In a separate case filed on the same date, Kangas is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a firearm and aggravated assault of an officer. Those charges stem from incidents March 7 and 14.
Kangas was earlier charged in three other criminal cases filed March 3 to May 9, 2016. A total of 18 charges were included in those filings.
In one case, charges were amended, removing three charges.
He made plea bargains in those cases, getting numerous charges dismissed. The three cases were consolidated into one, and Kangas pleaded no contest Feb. 27 to possession of methamphetamine, burglary, and obstruction of duty, all felonies.
Considering Kangas’ pleas, and the amendment of charges in one case, charges of possession of narcotic, fleeing or attempting to elude police, possession of drug paraphernalia, transporting an open container, and nine counts of theft of firearms were dismissed.
Sentencing on those three cases is scheduled for April 11.
State sentencing guidelines consider both the severity of the charge and the criminal history of the person being sentenced.
Each sentence Kangas is given must be treated with the same criminal history score, instead of each felony adding upon the other, county attorney Courtney Boehm said.
The guidelines suggest his sentence for burglary could be between 31 months community corrections to 186 months in prison, depending on Kangas’ criminal history. His sentence for obstruction could range from five months probation to 17 months in prison. His sentence for possession of methamphetamine could range from 10 months probation to 42 months in prison.
The judge could order the sentences to run concurrently or consecutively.
If convicted of the new charges, Kangas’ criminal history score will be at the upper end of criminal history categories for sentencing purposes.