Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Massachusetts man has been charged in Third Division District Court in Warwick with providing false information while purchasing multiple firearms, following an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General.
On January 25, 2024, investigators from the Office of the Attorney General arrested Maxwell Williams (age 34) of New Bedford, Mass. and charged him with nine counts of providing false information while attempting to secure a firearm.
As alleged in the complaint, on December 10, 2023, the defendant attempted to purchase a firearm from East Bay Ammunition LLC in Tiverton and was subsequently denied after a National Instant Background Check System (NICS) check returned results flagging that the defendant is prohibited from possessing a firearm because he is the subject of a qualifying protection order.
As alleged in the complaint, following further investigation, RIAG investigators learned that the defendant provided a false address on nine applications to purchase firearms in a four-month window between August and November 2023. The defendant is a resident of New Bedford Massachusetts, where he has resided since 2018, but used a suspended driver’s license listing a former address in Coventry while purchasing the guns.
As further alleged in court documents, investigators learned that the defendant was arrested in November 2023 in Seekonk, Mass. stemming from a single vehicle crash involving the defendant where he was charged with carrying a firearm without a license after police officers seized a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun from him.
As alleged in court documents, the defendant purchased six of the guns from East Bay Ammunition LLC, including three Glock semi-automatic handguns, two Palmetto State Armory semi-automatic rifles, and a Springfield Hellcat 9mm semi-automatic handgun. The defendant also purchased two guns from D&L Shooting Supplies, including a Mossberg 715 .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle and a Glock 43, 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
“As alleged, this case is yet another example of our investigators working to protect the public by holding accountable those who obtain guns illegally,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Those individuals who need to break the law to acquire guns are the same individuals who pose the greatest risk of committing violent gun crimes, and there will continue to be consequences for violators. I want to thank the investigators from this Office’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation Unit for their exceptional work here.”
The defendant is scheduled for a pre-arraignment conference on May 9, 2024, in Kent County Superior Court.
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