In the early hours of Tuesday, Roxbury police officers carried out a traffic stop resulting in the arrest of a 39-year-old Dorchester man, and the recovery of a loaded firearm. According to a statement obtained by the Boston Police Department, Jacob L. Grayson was pulled over at approximately 1:40 AM at 33 Woodward Ave for driving a white BMW with a defective headlight, which also happened to be part of an on-going law enforcement investigation.
Upon stopping the BMW, officers identified the driver as Grayson, who, after the officers' investigation was found with a ghost gun beneath the driver's seat. The gun, a 9MM, was equipped with a high-capacity magazine holding 29 rounds, and one round in the chamber, the police reported. This incident marks yet another instance in which the emergent issue of untraceable firearms, complicates the already intricate tapestry of urban policing.
Grayson faces multiple charges, including Carrying a Firearm Without a License, and Carrying a Firearm without a License 2nd Offense, among others. His history with the law is checkered, including three prior violent and/or drug crimes. The suspect was also cited with a motor vehicle equipment violation, as described in a report by the Boston Police Department.
Details surrounding the ongoing investigation that initially flagged the suspect's vehicle were not disclosed in the report. Grayson is expected to be arraigned at Roxbury District Court. The seized ghost gun represents a growing concern for law enforcement, as such weapons lack serial numbers, complicating the task of tracking and linking firearms to their owners, and to crimes. Roxbury's streets, witnessing another nocturnal skirmish in the effort to maintain public safety, become the anvil upon which the debate over unlicensed firearms is yet again hammered out.
