‘Ghost gun’ busts in Woburn
The Middlesex District Attorney’s office has announced two Woburn residents have been arrested and charged in separate offenses related to the manufacture of untraceable “ghost guns,” in what is being called a “dangerous trend.”
“These firearms pose a very real threat to our communities, they are untraceable and those who possess and distribute these weapons are intentionally violating the gun laws we have in place in Massachusetts,” said DA Marian Ryan in a Tuesday statement.
A State Police trooper stopped a car driven by Sean O’Connor, 37, of Woburn, on Feb. 9 in Wilmington for alleged erratic operation. During the stop, the trooper allegedly found an ammunition magazine and that the driver was carrying a loaded 9mm Glock-style pistol with no serial number — which authorities call a “ghost gun” — as well as more magazines and ammo for an AR-15 rifle.
A police search of his home on Brentwood Lane in Burlington purportedly uncovered multiple Glock-style ghost guns, as well as frames and parts of uncompleted handguns and AR-15-style rifles, plus a drill press and other tools to make untraceable guns.
The DA’s office did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on whether O’Connor is a resident of Burlington or Woburn.
He was arraigned that day in a local court on eight separate firearms charges — including a “subsequent offense” charge for possession of a firearm without a license.
An ongoing ghost gun manufacturing and trafficking investigation led to authorities searching the Totman Drive residence of Vincent Johns, 32, in Woburn on Feb. 24, where Middlesex prosecutors say police found and seized a veritable factory: a 3D printer — which they say was in the process of printing a lower pistol frame — what looks in a provided photo to be eight 3D-printed, Glock-style pistol frames; 3D-printed ammunition magazines; and other unspecified gun parts and manufacturing tools.
The DA’s office statement also said “a quantity” of counterfeit pills stamped with “Xanax” were found during the search.
Johns was arrested and charged following the search with possession of a firearm without a license and trafficking firearms.
Ryan called the manufacture and trafficking of the guns a “disturbing trend” and announced that she had partnered with state Rep. David Linsky, Democrat of Natick, to reintroduce “An Act Relative to 3D Printed Guns and Ghost Guns” in this legislative session.