BOSTON MAN CONVICTED IN ILLEGAL GUN TRAFFICKING SCHEME

BOSTON MAN CONVICTED IN ILLEGAL GUN TRAFFICKING SCHEME

BOSTON – A Boston man was convicted by a federal jury on Friday, March 18, 2016, in connection with his role in a scheme to illegally transport firearms into Massachusetts.

Shayne Parker, 41, of Dorchester, was convicted following a five-day trial of interstate transportation of firearms and being a felon in possession of 50 rounds of ammunition.  U.S. District Court Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV scheduled sentencing for June 10, 2016.  In March 2015, Parker was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint.  Parker has several felony convictions, including for violence and drug trafficking crimes.

In spring 2014, a joint law enforcement investigation uncovered a scheme in which firearms were bought in guns stores in New Hampshire and transported to Massachusetts for sale on the streets of Boston.  The purchasers of the firearms were paid with drugs for their help. 

During the course of the scheme, 16 guns were trafficked into Boston within three-weeks using three different straw purchasers.  Ronald Scott, who was convicted in New Hampshire, purchased the guns and ammunition while Parker drove Scott to and from each of the five purchase locations in New Hampshire and handled the weapons and ammunition.

One of the guns – a 9mm semi-automatic firearm – was recovered on April 2, 2014, after Boston Police Officers pursued and arrested another individual.  The firearm had been purchased 11 days before by Parker and his associates.  In addition, during a search of a residence in Mattapan, law enforcement officers seized a .380 caliber semi-automatic weapon and a box containing 50 rounds of ammunition. The ammunition had been purchased just 22 days prior at Dick’s Sporting Goods in New Hampshire and transported to Massachusetts by Parker.

The charging statutes each provide a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000.  Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Daniel J. Kumor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans, made the announcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn MacKinlay of Ortiz's Organized Crime and Gang Unit.