BOSTON, March 28, 2017— A repeat drug offender was held on high bail at his arraignment yesterday after he was found with a loaded gun and trafficking weight cocaine immediately after shots were fired nearby, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
RUBEN OSORIO (D.O.B. 1/2/85) of the South End, was arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court yesterday on charges of unlawful possession of ammunition, unlawful possession of a firearm, carrying a loaded firearm, possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and trafficking in cocaine. He was additionally charged with being a Level III armed career criminal based on prior convictions out of West Roxbury Municipal Court in 2012 and 2015 for distribution of a Class A substance and a 2010 conviction in Brookline for assault with a dangerous weapon, prosecutors said.
“Drug trafficking represents the intersection of guns, narcotics, and violent crime,” Conley said. “While the underlying shots-fired incident remains under investigation, this case takes a loaded handgun and a large quantity of apparent cocaine off the street immediately.”
Assistant District Attorney Brandon Tower requested bail of $50,000 and orders that Osorio wear a GPS monitor, remain within Massachusetts, stay away from the area of his arrest, and abide by a curfew in the event he is to be released on bail. Judge David Weingarten set bail at $20,000 and ordered Osorio to be fitted with a GPS monitor, stay away from the area of his arrest, and abide by a curfew. He also granted a motion by prosecutors to have Osorio transported to West Roxbury Municipal Court today on a probation matter.
Boston Police responded to the area of 100 Ruthven Street for a ShotSpotter activation shortly after 2:30 a.m. yesterday. As officers approached the area of Ruthven and Harold streets, they observed a vehicle that appeared to have stopped mid-turn in the intersection, with one tire on the curb blocking wheelchair access to the sidewalk, prosecutors said.
Officers approached the vehicle to speak with the operator and sole occupant, later identified as Osorio, about whether he had seen or heard shots fired in the area. Osorio’s hand was visibly shaking and officers observed an open knife next to him. Officers ordered Osorio out of the vehicle while they secured the knife and discovered a round of ammunition on the floor in front of the driver’s seat.
Osorio was placed under arrest and found to have an additional three rounds in his pocket, prosecutors said. An inventory search of Osorio’s vehicle revealed a Ruger LCP .380 semiautomatic handgun hidden inside the plastic area under the car’s gear shift; it was found to be loaded with six rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. Also located in the compartment were two plastic bags containing 38 grams of suspected cocaine, prosecutors said.
Also during their search of the vehicle, police observed damage to the windshield that, prosecutors said, could potentially have been caused by a gun shot.
Nearby, additional officers recovered ballistic evidence in the area of Ruthven Street and Humboldt Avenue.
Osorio is represented by Bruce Carroll. He returns to court April 24.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
