Dorchester man faces various drug, gun charges after arrest in Randolph and searches in Dorchester and Quincy

Boston Police report a man under investigation by the FBI for cocaine dealing now faces federal drug charges and state drug and gun charges following his arrest in Randolph on Friday afternoon and searches of his Dorchester apartment and a storage locker in Quincy.

Police say Boston drug-unit officers teamed up with FBI agents and Randolph Police to arrest Omari Peterson, 38, at the Comfort Inn on Rte. 28, even as federal agents were monitoring him as part of "an ongoing collaborative drug investigation." Boston Police say the officers found two bags of cocaine on Peterson.

Police say a search of Peterson's apartment at 106 Brunswick St. in Dorchester yielded "a loaded .45 caliber Sig Sauer P220 handgun, a loaded .380 caliber Ruger LCP handgun and a loaded .357 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver along with several additional rounds of various caliber ammunition and an additional plastic bag containing cocaine."

On Saturday, Boston and Quincy police and the FBI, armed with a search warrant, opened up a storage container at 671 Washington St. in Quincy, where they found "an additional six loaded handguns (Smith & Wesson M&P, Beretta 96, Glock 17, Glock 30, Ruger SR40, Ruger SP101), a large quantity of various caliber ammunition, several large capacity feeding devices including one capable of holding thirty rounds, a quantity of assorted prescription pills, 92 strips of suboxone, approximately $10,000.00 in U.S. Currency along with personal papers in the name of the suspect."

Five of the guns turned out to have been stolen in New Hampshire, police say, adding that in addition to his Dorchester apartment, Peterson also had a residence in Manchester.

Peterson was charged in US District Court in Boston on Friday on a federal count of possession of crack and cocaine with intent to distribute. Boston Police say he also faces Massachusetts charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition (multiple counts), five counts of receiving stolen property and distribution of Class D drugs.

According to an affidavit by an FBI agent on the case, officials began watching Peterson as a suspected drug dealer in January, and hired a "cooperating witness" with his own criminal past to attempt to buy some drugs from Peterson.

The cooperating witness got a meeting with Peterson in an unspecified "public place" in Boston on Feb. 18 and handed over $800 in FBI-supplied cash in exchange for a half ounce of crack, according to the affidavit.

Innocent, etc.