Police say a 51-year-old Dorchester man is facing a stack of charges after a two-month probe ended this week with search warrants, four guns, and suspected crack cocaine tied to a Fields Corner convenience store and an apartment investigators later described as an illegal rooming house.
Keto Powell, 51, was taken into custody Wednesday at about 11:52 a.m. in front of a convenience store at 1580 Dorchester Avenue. Investigators executed two search warrants issued out of Dorchester District Court and later searched an apartment at 46 Mallon Road, as reported by Newport Dispatch.
Two-Month Probe By Local And Federal Teams
The arrest capped a two-month investigation led by the Boston Police Department’s Special Investigations Unit working with the FBI’s Metro Boston Gang Task Force. Boston Police's rules and procedures describe the Special Investigations Unit as the department unit responsible for conducting general and specialized investigations of individuals and organized groups, including firearms and narcotics enforcement.
What Officers Say They Found
Investigators say they recovered four handguns from Powell’s room: an Iver Johnson .45 loaded with seven rounds, a Smith & Wesson .40 with a 10-round magazine, a Taurus 9mm with ammunition in the chamber, and a Bauer .25 with five rounds. Police report that multiple magazines, ammunition and a large-capacity feeding device were also seized.
According to investigators, three of the firearms had obliterated serial numbers. Officers also seized sandwich bags, four digital scales, a razor blade, a plastic bag containing an unknown white substance and an undisclosed amount of U.S. currency. Police say a search of Powell’s person produced roughly seven grams of crack cocaine and a quantity of marijuana. He faces charges ranging from drinking in public to possession of a firearm without an FID card and possession with intent to distribute a Class B substance, as reported by Newport Dispatch.
Court And Custody
Powell was transported to the Nashua Street Jail following his arrest and is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court. The Dorchester Division of the Boston Municipal Court sits at 510 Washington St., the court's public listing shows.
Legal Context
Federal law makes it a crime to knowingly possess a firearm with an altered or obliterated serial number under 18 U.S.C. § 922. "A License to Carry (LTC) or Firearm Identification (FID) Card is required to possess or carry firearms in Massachusetts," per Mass.gov, and possession with intent to distribute a Class B controlled substance carries felony penalties under state law, including potential prison terms for distribution offenses as summarized by legal resources.
