A midweek drug raid on Barry Street ended with a 51-year-old Dorchester man in custody, a loaded 9mm handgun off the street and a stash of suspected narcotics headed to the evidence room, according to Boston police. Members of the District C-11 Drug Control Unit executed a search of an apartment on Barry Street on Wednesday after an investigation that led to two search warrants, one for the residence and one for the suspect himself. Officers stopped the man as he walked out of the building, then moved inside to search the unit, police said.
Inside, officers reported finding a loaded 9mm pistol with one round in the chamber and six more in the magazine, suspected crack cocaine and suspected fentanyl. Police also said they recovered two digital scales, packaging materials, a cell phone, a set of keys that matched the apartment and building locks, and an undisclosed amount of cash.
In a Facebook post, the Boston Police Department identified the suspect as Damon Brown, 51, and said officers seized approximately 9.2 grams of suspected crack cocaine and about 3 grams of suspected fentanyl during the operation. Brown was arrested at the scene, transported to Suffolk County Jail and is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court.
Police listed a stack of charges in connection with the raid, including possession with intent to distribute a class A substance (subsequent offense), possession with intent to distribute a class B substance (subsequent offense), unlawful possession of a firearm (subsequent offense), unlawful possession of ammunition, improper storage of a firearm and an armed career criminal level III designation, according to the Boston Police Department.
Raid echoes recent Dorchester operations
This latest seizure is the newest entry in a busy year for drug and gun enforcement in Dorchester. In April, a separate operation in the neighborhood turned up multiple pounds of fentanyl, a firearm, ammunition and a large pill press, as reported by The Boston Globe.
Charges and legal stakes
The armed career criminal level III enhancement that police listed among Brown's charges is a Massachusetts sentencing provision that can significantly increase potential prison time for defendants with certain prior violent or serious drug convictions. The state Supreme Judicial Court has detailed how that enhancement operates under G.L. c. 269, § 10G and how courts decide which prior convictions qualify, according to Justia.
The investigation remains active, and prosecutors are expected to spell out more details in court filings and at Brown's arraignment in Dorchester District Court as the case moves forward.
