BOSTON, Dec. 27, 2012—Three men from Cambridge were arraigned in Boston today after a handgun was recovered from their car, which matched the description of a vehicle from which shots were fired in Chinatown early this morning, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DARIO SANTOS, Jr. (D.O.B. 5/9/89); ERIC SMALL, Jr. (D.O.B. 8/21/90); and KADEEM WINSPEARE (D.O.B. 3/14/90) were all charged in the Boston Municipal Court with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm, discharging a firearm within 500’ of a building, and possession of a Class D substance with intent to distribute.

Assistant District Attorney Peter Pasciucco of Conley’s Gun Prosecutions Unit recommended bail of $100,000 for Winspeare based on a record that included six defaults, and further recommended that his open bail on a drug distribution charge out of Cambridge be revoked. Judge Raymond Dougan, Jr., declined to revoke Winspeare’s open bail and set his new bail at $1,500.

Pasciucco further recommended $50,000 bail each for Santos and Small. Dougan imposed $5,000 for each.

Boston Police on routine patrol for the closing of area nightclubs heard shots fired from the general vicinity of South Street at about 2:15 this morning. They responded to the area and found three men hunched down and apparently trying to flee near the corner of South and Tufts streets.

After expressing relief at the officers’ arrival, the men pointed toward Kneeland Street and said, “They went down there in a black Magnum.” The officers broadcast a description of a black Dodge Magnum in connection with shots fired, headed toward Kneeland Street, and soon spotted such a vehicle taking a right turn off of Utica Street and heading in their direction.

Officers stopped the Magnum at the Atlantic Avenue intersection and removed the three defendants. Small was driving, Santos was the front seat passenger, and Winspeare was a back seat passenger.

The officers observed a bag of marijuana and a large quantity of cash – later determined to be $740 – on the center of the dashboard. They requested a K-9 unit to determine whether a firearm was present in the vehicle, and a Boston Police explosives-sniffing dog alerted on a Taurus .38 Special revolver in the glove compartment.

None of the defendants could produce a license to carry the firearm. All three will return to court on Jan. 31.

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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.