BOSTON, May 1, 2013—A Fenway man was arraigned on firearms charges yesterday after criminalists recovered his fingerprint on the magazine of a 9mm handgun that police earlier found stashed in a Dorchester alley, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

RAHIYM MERVIN (D.O.B. 10/16/92) was arraigned yesterday in Roxbury District Court on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawfully carrying a loaded firearm, and unlawful possession of a large-capacity feeding device. Because of a prior conviction for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, Mervin was additionally charged as a Level I armed career criminal.

Assistant District Attorney Thomas Costello recommended that Mervin be held on $20,000 cash bail and be ordered to stay away from the area in which the firearm was recovered if he posts that amount. Judge Tracy-Lee Lyons imposed $5,000 bail and the stay-away order, and additionally ordered him held for allegedly violating the terms of his probation on an earlier case charging trespassing and possession of ammunition.

In the course of an investigation, members of the Boston Police Youth Violence Strike Force on March 27 observed a group of men at the opening of an alley near a Cunningham Street building. There were alcoholic beverages on the building’s porch. They also saw members of a private security firm arrive at the location, prompting the men to move away from the alley.

Officers approached the group, spoke with its members, and noted their names. Another officer looked down the alley where they had been earlier and saw a white box wedged between two rocks. He looked inside the box and found a Smith and Wesson Model 59 semiautomatic handgun. Further examination would reveal that it was loaded with 15 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Because the evidence was insufficient to charge anyone at the scene with possessing the firearm, officers seized it for forensic testing and returned to their earlier investigation.

Members of the Boston Police Latent Print Section examined the weapon and recovered a fingerprint on the magazine. They were also able to individualize it to Mervin, whose prints were already on file, and more specifically his left index finger. On April 29, officers obtained a warrant for Mervin’s arrest.

Mervin was represented by attorney Carl Williams. He will return to court on May 28.

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