A latent fingerprint on a handgun tossed from a moving SUV led a Dorchester gang associate to plead guilty and accept a state prison term rather than go to trial, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.

JAMAINE BURTON (D.O.B. 9/21/89), affiliated with gangs in the Lucerne and Mascot street areas, pleaded guilty Tuesday to being a Level I armed career criminal for unlawfully possessing a loaded handgun during the 2010 incident, and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon for driving a sport-utility vehicle at Boston and State police. Burton was convicted in 2008 of unlawful possession of a firearm and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Christine Roach imposed the sentence recommended by prosecutors: three to five years in state prison followed by two years of probation upon his release. During that time, Burton must obtain a high school diploma or GED, seek or maintain full-time employment or schooling, and abide by an 8:00 p.m. curfew.

Additionally, Burton must stay out of the area of Dorchester bordered by Blue Hill Avenue, Talbot Avenue, Norfolk Street, and Morton Street, an area generally associated with Burton’s Lucerne Street associates.
Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Abigail Holland would have introduced evidence and testimony to prove that Boston and State police were performing surveillance in the area of Park and Spencer streets in Dorchester on the evening of May 16, 2010. At about 8:30 p.m., they saw three men on foot lurking behind a van outside of a party. The men appeared to be taking pains to remain unseen by partygoers and one was holding his waistband with his right hand while holding his shirt down with his left – characteristics the officers recognized from their training as those of an armed gunman.

After apparently conferring with one another, the three men began running up Park Street toward Washington Street and entered a 1997 Ford Expedition driven by Burton. Based on their observations and belief that one of the occupants was carrying a gun, officers attempted to stop the Expedition at Champlain Circle.

As officers approached the truck, however, Burton drove forward toward two of the officers, nearly striking them, and took off down School Street. With officers in pursuit, Burton took multiple turns, including one onto Harvard Street, where the officers watched as the rear driver’s side door opened.

The vehicle came to rest on Shafter Street. When officers arrived, all four doors were open and the occupants had fled; the officers located Burton and a second man, LORENZO GREYSON (D.O.B. 3/26/90), nearby almost immediately. Greyson later pleaded guilty and served a jail sentence for disorderly conduct and trespassing.

A short time later, a civilian approached officers at the scene with a Smith & Wesson Model 910 9mm semiautomatic handgun he had found in his Harvard Street yard along the Expedition’s path of flight. The man explained that he had found the gun while taking out the trash and was certain that it hadn’t been there earlier in the evening. He said he had put on gloves to pick up the gun and placed it in a plastic bag while he called 911 to report it; as it turned out, he saw the officers before police responded to his home.

Boston Police criminalists developed three latent fingerprints on the firearm. One lacked the ridge detail sufficient for comparison, the second was inconclusive, but the third – found on the underside of the barrel – was individualized to Burton’s left ring finger.

Burton was represented by attorney Paul Davenport.