BOSTON, August 29, 2016—A Quincy man was arraigned on firearm charges last week after Boston Police criminalists found his fingerprint inside a handgun left on a Dorchester street – where it was discovered by two children walking to the park, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

DANTE SINGLETON (D.O.B. 3/15/93) was arraigned Friday in Roxbury Municipal Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of a large capacity firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, and unlawful possession of a firearm as a third offense.  According to prosecutors, Singleton was previously convicted of firearm charges in the juvenile division of Dorchester Municipal Court and more recently convicted in Suffolk Superior Court on a 2013 indictment charging unlawful possession of a firearm and carrying a loaded firearm. Singleton was sentenced to two and a half years behind bars and is currently serving five years of probation on that conviction.

Assistant District Attorney Anna Lusardi requested bail of $50,000 and orders that Singleton remain in Massachusetts, wear a GPS monitor, and abide by a curfew in the event he is released on bail.  Judge David Weingarten set bail at $20,000 and imposed the requested conditions of release.

Lusardi told the court that, on July 24, two children on their way to a nearby playground discovered a firearm on the ground between two parked vehicles on Beauford Lane.  They told an adult, who wrapped the gun in a towel and removed it from the location before calling Boston Police.

Officers responded and took possession of the gun, which was found to be a loaded Taurus PT 738.

On Aug. 23, members of the Boston Police Latent Print Unit matched a fingerprint on the gun’s magazine to that of Singleton’s left index finger.  As a result, police sought and obtained a warrant for Singleton’s arrest.

“A loaded gun left for innocent children to come across could have ended in unspeakable tragedy.  These kids made the right decision by telling an adult what they had found, and the community member who kept it in a safe place until officers could retrieve it may well have prevented serious injury – or much, much worse,” Conley said.

Singleton was represented by Aaron Lazar.  He returns to court Sept. 14.

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