2 From RI Facing 36 Felony Charges After Gun Trafficking Arrests

PAWTUCKET, RI — Two people from Rhode Island are facing 36 felony charges after police said they trafficked guns into the Pawtucket area, Attorney General Peter Neronha said Monday.

Brian Watson, 33, and Zaira Lozada, 32, both of Pawtucket, were arrested on April 27, following a months-long investigation by Pawtucket police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

State authorities said Watson and Lozada sold and possessed various illegal guns between 2020 and 2021, including a ghost gun with a large capacity magazine. Police said they searched Watson and Lozada's apartment in Broadway in Pawtucket and found a Polymer80 9 mm semi-automatic ghost gun with a 30-round large capacity magazine; a Radical Firearms RF-15 5.56 mm pistol; a Ruger LCP .380 semi-automatic pistol; a Springfield Armory XD45 semi-automatic pistol; several hundred rounds of various types of ammunition and firearms parts; and methamphetamine.

"This case has all the attributes of what is driving urban violent crime: the trafficking of multiple firearms to convicted felons, the possession and use of difficult to trace ghost guns, the proliferation of ammunition among criminals like it’s candy, and the use of high-capacity magazines," Neronha said in a statement. "I am grateful to the many law enforcement agencies involved – in particular the Pawtucket Police Department, whose proactive investigatory work enabled us to get these illegal firearms off the street and these defendants charged with serious offenses before additional harm could be done."

Watson was charged with four counts of possession of a firearm after a previous conviction for a domestic violence offense, possession of a ghost gun, four counts of possession of a pistol without a license, three counts of conspiracy, five counts of selling a concealable weapon without proper paperwork, one count of selling a pistol to a prohibited person and two counts of solicitation.

Lozada was charged with one count of possession of a ghost gun, ten counts of selling a concealable weapon without proper paperwork, six counts of selling a pistol to a prohibited person, three counts of conspiracy, five counts of providing false information to purchase a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.

Watson and Lozada are scheduled for a pre-arraignment conference on Jan. 12, 2022, in Providence County Superior Court.