DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Massachusetts

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Carmen M. Ortiz
, United States Attorney
Contact: Christina Dilorio-Sterling

Boston Man Charged with Illegal Gun Trafficking

BOSTON – A Boston man was indicted today in U.S. District Court in Boston in connection with his role in a scheme to illegally transport firearms into Massachusetts.

 

Shayne Parker, 41, was indicted on one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition and one count of unlawful transportation of firearms in Massachusetts.  In March 2015, Parker was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint.  Parker has several felony convictions, including for violence and drug trafficking crimes.

 

According to court documents, Parker worked with a group of individuals responsible for the illegal purchase and transportation of between 20 and 25 firearms from New Hampshire to Boston.  A joint investigation with New Hampshire law enforcement agencies revealed that Parker and another man traveled from Massachusetts, where they resided, to New Hampshire to illegally purchase firearms from gun dealers.  After the illegal straw purchases were complete, Parker, and others under his direction, would transport the firearms to Dorchester and other areas of Massachusetts.  The firearms were often traded for illegal narcotics.  Numerous guns purchased and transported have been recovered at crime scenes on the streets of Boston.  

 

Four other persons were previously charged in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire in connection with their roles in the gun trafficking scheme.  During a search of Parker’s residence and another location in Boston, law enforcement officers seized a firearm, 50 rounds of ammunition, and firearm paraphernalia.   Parker’s fingerprint was lifted from the box of ammunition. 

 

The charge of being a felon in possession of ammunition provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.  The charge of unlawful transportation of firearms in Massachusetts provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and 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 and Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner William Evans, made the announcement today.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn A. Mackinlay of Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

 

The details contained in the charging document are allegations.  The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law. 

 

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Boston Field Division