DA Kevin Hayden: Six and Counting Arraigned This Week for High-Capacity Firearms
BOSTON, July 15, 2022—District Attorney Kevin Hayden raised the alarm today after at least half a dozen individuals were arraigned in Suffolk County courts this week for possessing high-capacity weapons, some with laser sites.
“These are death machines, plain and simple. High-capacity guns and the people willing to use them are immediate threats to our neighborhoods. More bullets shot mean more people shot, more grieving families, more lives cut short and more community terror. No society should tolerate these weapons. It’s difficult to make a case for society even producing these weapons,” Hayden said.
Data released by the Boston Police Department shows that the number of shooting incidents between January 1, 2022, and July 3, 2022, in which at least two individuals were struck by gunfire has nearly tripled over the same period last year.
On Monday, JALEN EVANS, 22, of Dorchester was arraigned in the Dorchester Division of Boston Municipal Court on multiple firearm charges, including carrying a loaded firearm and illegal possession a large capacity firearm. Bail was set at $7,500.
A Massachusetts State Police Trooper on Friday observed a vehicle operating on the wrong side of Columbia Road as it made an abrupt left turn onto East Cottage Street, nearly striking the cruiser head-on. The trooper stopped the vehicle and found a loaded 9mm Ruger in the trunk. It was equipped with a laser site and a high-capacity magazine loaded with 16 rounds.
Also Monday, MIGUELANGEL SERRANO, 18, and LYRIQ RIVERA, 19, both of Boston, were arraigned in the Roxbury Division of the BMC on gun charges and other offenses, while a juvenile arrested alongside them was arraigned in Boston Juvenile Court on similar charges.
Boston police assigned to the Youth Violence Strike Force patrolling the Mt. Pleasant Street area in Roxbury area on Saturday approached a group gathered on the sidewalk. Three members of the group fled upon seeing the officers. The three ran into a nearby apartment building. Officers were able to gain entry and located the three individuals – identified as Serrano, Rivera and a 16-year-old male – in the building’s stairwell. Police found three firearms in an untied garbage bag in the building’s entry. Those guns included a .40 caliber Glock 22 equipped with a laser attachment and loaded with one round in the chamber and seventeen rounds in the high-capacity magazine; a P80 9mm with one round in the chamber and fifteen in a high-capacity magazine; and a Springfield Armory XD .45 caliber firearm with a laser sight, loaded with twelve rounds in a large capacity magazine. Thermal imaging revealed that all three firearms were transmitting heat, suggesting that they had been placed there only a short time before their discovery.
On Tuesday, TYLIQUE ORTIZ-HOWARD, 23, of Brockton was arraigned in the Roxbury Division of BMC on charges including possession of a large capacity feeding device and possession of ammunition. Bail was set at $1,000 and Ortiz-Howard was ordered to stay away from, have no contact with and not abuse any witnesses or co-defendants and not loiter in the area of the offense.
On Monday evening, Boston Police responded to the area of Washington Street in Roxbury, where a funeral had just occurred, for a report of a man with a gun. Officers attempted to stop a motor vehicle containing passengers that fit the description provided by witnesses. The vehicle eventually pulled over, but then fled at a high rate of speed and drove onto the sidewalk in an attempt to evade officers. A short time later, Boston Police received a series of 911 calls about the same car striking other vehicles and a light post. All four occupants of the crashed vehicle fled on foot. Officers observed one occupant, Ortiz-Howard, run with his right hand holding his waistband while pumping his left arm. He continued to keep his right hand against his body even as he climbed over a fence. In the area where he jumped over the fence, officers located a Glock 10 high-capacity magazine containing 12 rounds of ammunition. Ortiz-Howard was located hiding in a nearby yard and taken into custody. Three other individuals who fled the vehicle were also taken into custody.
On Wednesday, in the Central Division of BMC, JOSE LARA was arraigned on firearm charges. Bail was set at $5,000 and Lara was ordered to stay away from the location of the offense and stay away from and have no contact with the victims. In addition, Lara’s bail was revoked on two pending criminal cases.
On Tuesday afternoon, Lara entered a worksite inside the parking area of South Station. When confronted by two workers at the site, he assaulted both men and then fled. Witnesses observed Lara toss a backpack as he fled the parking structure. Responding officers located Lara nearby and located the discarded backpack, which contained a loaded firearm with one round in the chamber and 12 rounds in a high-capacity magazine.
“We in law enforcement are doing our best to limit guns flowing into our neighborhoods and onto our streets. But it takes a larger effort, and not just in Boston or Massachusetts. Gun transactions in other states have a direct impact here. That’s a reality that requires national recognition and national action,” Hayden said.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal legal system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.