Man sentenced to 10 years in prison on gun charges from 2020 domestic incident

BOSTON, December 23, 2022 —Boston man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison after being convicted yesterday on numerous counts stemming from a 2020 incident in which he forced his then girlfriend to walk the streets on Allston in only a bra, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

JONATHAN WHIGHAM, 34, was convicted of illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition, illegal carrying of a loaded weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon (brass knuckles), possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute and resisting arrest.  The jury found Whigham not guilty of various assault charges.

Judge Sarah Ellis imposed a sentence of 10 years to 10 years and a day.  Under the state’s truth in sentencing laws, Whigham will spend at least 10 years in prison.  Ellis also imposed five years of probation upon Whigham’s release, along with a stay-away order from the victim and witnesses with GPS monitoring.

Assistant District Attorney Alyssa Tochka said Whigham physically assaulted the victim, his girlfriend at the time, on various occasions in the summer of 2020. Police initially were notified as a result of an incident on August 22, 2020, for which the defendant held a firearm to the victim’s head and pulled the trigger. No bullet was released. He then hit her with the gun, ordered her to remove the shirt he had bought her and made her walk the streets of Allston in only a bra.

Whigham was arrested wearing a fanny pack with 24 bags of crack cocaine, a scale, brass knuckles and a knife.

“This was not an easy case, and the strength of the victim’s testimony along with the excellent work by the prosecution and victim advocate team led to the guilty verdicts.  While we would have preferred guilty on all counts, we’re pleased that this man has been held accountable with a considerable sentence,” Hayden said.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications