A South Boston man, already entangled in two pending firearm cases, is facing a slew of new charges involving a fully-automatic weapon, according to Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden. The defendant, identified as 23-year-old Frederick Hines, was nabbed by Boston police following an ongoing investigation that ended in the seizure of a high-capacity weapon, designed for swift and indiscriminate firepower.
Authorities collared Hines on January 4, around 7:10 p.m, after spotting him as the man they were looking for that day. Exiting a Centre Street residence, Hines was carrying a cross body bag across his chest, inside which responding officers found a menacing piece of hardware—a loaded black Glock 17 adorned with a golden slide and an illegal machine gun conversion device. Suffolk District Attorney's Office reported that the magazine was nearly full, packing 25 rounds of potential havoc.
Faced with these developments, Judge Erika Reis has seen fit to hold Mr. Hines without bail, as a dangerousness hearing looms on the horizon scheduled for January 10th. The litany of charges against him now includes possession of a large capacity firearm, possession of ammunition without an FID card, possession of a machine gun, and other related offenses. His prior open firearm cases also stem from the Dorchester BMC jurisdiction.
"This is a frightening weapon capable of massive destruction in mere seconds. Our neighborhoods are immediately safer with Boston police successfully taking this gun off the street and taking the suspect wielding it into custody," Hayden stated, underscoring the community's close call with what could have been a devastating episode.
