Green Harbor buoy hit by gunshots

Gunshots from a boat hitting a target just 500 feet from shore posed a danger not just to the harbor buoy that was shot, according to Harbormaster Michael DiMeo, but to fishermen and anyone else awake early to start the day.

DiMeo said a bullet from the 22-caliber pistol could travel up to a mile and a half because of its velocity, and the suspects could have been aiming in a different direction, possibly in the direction of nearby homes or the Blackman’s Point trailer park. The loss of the special buoy powered by solar energy poses a danger to all mariners in Green Harbor at night, DiMeo said.

“They put a lot of boats in jeopardy because it is a key buoy to enter Green Harbor,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s like a black hole at night.”

Early in the morning on Saturday (June 9), two fishermen getting ready to head out on their boats for a day of fishing called the Marshfield Police after hearing gunshots, according to DiMeo. The police, in turn, contacted the Coast Guard requesting assistance around 3 a.m. Twenty minutes later, a Coast Guard boarding team from Coast Guard Station Scituate was on its way to Green Harbor, where the 18-foot vessel suspected in the shooting was found tied to a floating pier.

According to a press release from the Coast Guard, the boarding team believed that the suspects were hiding below deck when they boarded the boat. They issued verbal warnings and drew their weapons, and the three unarmed suspects emerged from below.

The three men are 21-year-old Kevin Mooney, 23-year-old Jason McCormack and 26-year-old Michael McCormack, all Marshfield residents, They were brought to shore at 5:15 a.m. and turned over to Marshfield Police, who arrested Mooney for illegal use of a firearm, disorderly conduct and other charges, according to the Coast Guard press release.

DiMeo, who was called to the scene around 4:15 a.m., said police believe alcohol was a factor due to the presence of empty beer bottles the Coast Guard allegedly found when boarding the boat. Officer Jason Abell is conducting the investigation.

What the Coast Guard boarding team did not find along with the beer bottles and shotgun shells were any guns. On land, Marshfield police found a fourth Marshfield man, 23-year-old John Martell, who had been dropped off near Taylor Marine, holding 40-caliber and 22-caliber pistols.

Two of the four men, Mooney and Martell, were arrested, but more charges could be pending. DiMeo said the investigation is ongoing, but federal charges could be filed due to the damage to the harbor buoy. Mooney’s father has taken possession of the boat.

The Coast Guard issued violations for improper documentation on board, hindering a Coast Guard boarding operation, and defacing federal property or aid to navigation, according to the Coast Guard press release.

It could take a week to replace the buoy, and DiMeo said Mariners have been warned to be careful. DiMeo credited cooperation between the Marshfield police and U.S. Coast Guard for the quick response and identification of suspects.

The buoy shooting wasn’t the only incident involving the Coast Guard and a boat out of Green Harbor June 9. Two fishermen were rescued after their boat, owned by Douglas Randall of Brant Rock, who was not on board, sank near Provincetown.

According to a Coast Guard press release, the crew of the fishing vessel Sea Princess, 43-year-old William Picken of North Chelmsford and 42-year-old Robert Wilson of Brant Point, made a distress call to Coast Guard Station Provincetown at 5:46 p.m. Saturday. They said the 45-foot Green Harbor-based fishing vessel was flooding and they were abandoning ship. A rescue crew found Picken and Wilson in their life raft when they are arrived.

The Sea Princess, designed for sea clamming, according to DiMeo, sank in about 200 feet of water too deep for the vessel to have been clamming in when it sank. The sinking is under investigation.