Crime & Safety
Barnstable Man Facing Federal Gun Trafficking Charges
Prosecutors said Jacob Linhares, 34, of Barnstable, built three guns and sold them to an undercover officer.
BARNSTABLE, MA — A Barnstable man is facing federal charges after selling three guns he built to an undercover officer, according to prosecutors.
Jacob Linhares, 34, was charged Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Boston with dealing firearms without a federal license. Linhares was ordered detained following a hearing yesterday before Chief Magistrate Judge M. Page Kelley.
According to court documents, Linhares sold the officer the privately made guns between May 25 and June 10, 2020. Privately made guns are firearms not made by gun manufacturers. Instead, manufacturers, sell individual gun parts to buyers to build their own firearms. Law enforcement also calls privately made guns "ghost guns," because they are not serialized, making them untraceable.
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If convicted, Linhares faces a potential five-year prison sentence, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
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