The streets of Springfield just got a little safer, thanks to the keen eyes of the Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit (FIU) and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department, who managed to put the clamps on a repeat offender. On a noontime swoop this Wednesday, they apprehended 38-year-old Jose Allende, along with a stolen loaded gun and an eerie "ghost gun" on Belmont Avenue, authorities reported.
In what appears to be a precision-orchestrated maneuver, detectives received a tip that Allende was packing heat, after which they located him cruising down Dickinson Street before pulling off a traffic stop that led to the discovery of the illegal arsenal, including a stolen loaded firearm right out of Norwich, Connecticut, an unloaded Ghost Gun, a high-capacity magazine, and two additional firearm magazines were all found inside Allende’s cross-body bag, according to the police report.
Allende, who has a rap sheet that no doubt weighs heavy on the community, faces a slew of charges that range from carrying a loaded firearm without a license to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, not to mention the possession of a high-capacity feed device and receiving stolen property valued at less than $1200, the police confirmed.
With two prior convictions related to violent and drug crimes already scarring his record, Allende's latest alleged foray into illicit arms underscores a persistent plague in our streets, ghost guns and stolen firearms that feed the cycle of violence, thus making the job of the Springfield PD that much more crucial – and with these charges, it looks like Allende might be staring down the barrel of a hefty stint behind bars if convicted, as the case against him stacks up.
