Man scheduled for trial in Dorchester on gun charges tomorrow might not be able to make it because the feds just charged him with gun offenses, too

Federal prosecutors yesterday charged a Dorchester man with being an unlicensed gun dealer based on the quantity of guns he allegedly sold in the year and a half before he was arrested on state gun charges in 2022.

Ariel Wiggins, 24, was arrested at his Minot Street apartment on Dec. 9, 2022 by ATF agents and BPD gang-unit officers and charged in Dorchester Municipal Court with illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition and possession of a high-capacity feeding device, although the last charge was eventually dropped.

At the time, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reported the agents and officers, armed with a search warrant had seized, among other items, a a Norinco 7.62mm rifle. Out on $1,500 bail, Wiggins was scheduled for a trial before a judge in Dorchester court tomorrow, court records show.

According to a federal "information" unsealed yesterday, in addition to the Norinco rifle found in his apartment, Wiggins sold guns between June 28, 2021 and his arrest in December, 2022. The document lists six other guns - three Glock firearms and three "ghost" guns with no serial numbers, one made with Glock components - although it does not specify whether Wiggins sold those guns or they were recovered during a search, but in any case, demands they be turned over to the government.

Wiggins now faces a federal charge of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, which carries a maximum possible sentence of five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.

Innocent, etc.