Hey, there! Log in / Register

Hyde Park man with a gun conviction faces 10 years in federal prison after police say they found him with another gun

A Hyde Park man who was facing local charges for a May incident in which police allegedly spotted him tossing a backpack with a loaded gun onto the roof of a store on Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan now faces federal gun charges that could send him out of state for up to ten years.

The US Attorney's office reports it is charging Kerry Charlotin, 30, with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition for the incident, in which Charlotin was nabbed by Boston officers patrolling the area just south of Blue Hill Avenue's intersection with Morton Street because of complaints from nearby residents about drug dealing and public drinking.

That Charlotin was on the street the afternoon of May 1 at all was because a judge gave him a bit of a break: On May 17, 2018, Charlotin was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon - a gun - and larceny in West Roxbury Municipal Court. The judge in his case sentenced him to 18 months in the county jail, but suspended all but 114 days, on the assumption Charlotin would stay out of trouble until May 15, 2020. This came after a 2013 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for larceny from a person, assault and battery and witness intimidation, for which he was sentenced to two years in jail, with all but five months suspended.

It proved to be a mistaken assumption, according to an account by Boston Police and an affidavit by a federal ATF agent assigned to the case:

Around 5:20 p.m. on May 1, officers who were specifically monitoring the parking lot at Fernandes Liquors II at 1212 Blue Hill Ave., noticed that Charlotin and a pal spotted them and began to hurry away - and into an alleyway that had several "No Trespassing" signs. The officers entered the alley to talk to the two, but this time the pair began to run, up Blue Hill Avenue towards Morton Street.

At this time, officers gave chase and pursued the males on foot into a local business at 1186 Blue Hill Avenue. The two suspects then fled the area again, but were both located and secured a short time later as officers and detectives continued their investigation into the bag which had been thrown onto the roof of the businesses at 1186 Blue Hill Avenue. Inside of the bag, officers discovered a Glock 26 .9mm firearm loaded with nine rounds of live ammunition.

According to the affidavit, Charlotin initially denied the backpack was his, but then allowed as how he might have had a school book bag. Asked what was in the bag, he replied, "school books." In addition to the handgun, police found a plastic bag with a fruit - either a papaya or a mango - inside, and lifted one of Charlotin's fingerprints from the bag.

Police charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and carrying a loaded firearm.

The federal interest in Charlotin stems from the fact that the gun he's charged with tossing on the roof got here through interstate travel somehow. After being built in Austria, it was shipped to a Glock facility in Smyrna, GA., sold to a licensed gun dealer in Chaplin, SC and then to another licensed dealer in Ohio, which sold it to "a legal purchaser" in Ohio. Somehow, the gun and the ammunition - also manufactured out of state - then made its way to Mattapan; the affidavit does not say how Charlotin might have wound up with it.

In addition to the potential ten-year sentence in federal prison, Charlotin also faces a possible fine of up to $250,000, according to the US Attorney's office.

Following his arrest on the federal charges today, US District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler ordered Charlotin held at least until a detention hearing next Friday.

Innocent, etc.

Neighborhoods: 
Topics: 
AttachmentSize
PDF icon Affidavit by ATF agent in the case393.68 KB


Ad:


Like the job UHub is doing? Consider a contribution. Thanks!

Comments

If we as a culture want to get serious about stemming the tide of gun violence, we MUST harshly punish those who repeatedly flaunt our gun laws.

"The judge in his case sentenced him to 18 months in the county jail, but suspended all but 114 days, on the assumption Charlotin would stay out of trouble until May 15, 2020. This came after a 2013 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for larceny from a person, assault and battery and witness intimidation, for which he was sentenced to two years in jail, with all but five months suspended.

This guy has shown that he is a scumbag, if our local judges are too liberal to toss him in the slammer for real time, let's hope the feds will. Idiots like this guy are the ones doing the vast majority of shootings in our inner cities.

Take him out of the equation, throw away the key.

up
Voting closed 0

Something is very wrong when people from NH, VT, ME that drive over the border and don't realize they need a permit to have a gun locked in their car are more harshly treated and punished than career criminals. It is mind boggling that judges are more willing to throw the book at hapless people ignorant of the intricacies of Commonwealth's laws than they are at hardened criminals. No wonder DA's offer plea deals that turn what should be a dozen felonies into a misdemeanor rap. They know full well a judge will never let a jury do their job unimpeded.

The Boston miracle occurred around the time the city kicked all of its gang prosecutions up to the federal level for the firearms charges. Maybe it is time Boston did that again in large numbers to get these repeat offenders off the streets and out of circulation for at least 10 years.

up
Voting closed 0

Not saying it's untrue (although your comment's tone and the fact you can't be bothered to create a profile to rep definitely nudge the needle on my BS-o-meter). I'm just not sure I've ever heard that federal prosecution of local firearms charges was an essential element of Operation Ceasefire's success. Willing to find out more though.

That goes for all you upvoters too - if any of you can show documentation supporting this correlative claim, please provide it.

up
Voting closed 0

https://nij.gov/topics/crime/gun-violence/prevention/pages/ceasefire.aspx

A King [gang member,] stopped one evening by a YVSF officer[,] was carrying a mask, gloves, and a semiautomatic pistol, which he drew on the officer before thinking twice and dropping the weapon. Normally, that case would have been prosecuted by Massachusetts authorities; instead, alerted by the Working Group, the U.S. Attorney took the case. Judges, kept up to date by probation officers, imposed strict bail conditions on Kings arrested during the operation. ATF [U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] agents rode and walked the streets with BPD [Boston Police Department] officers. (p. 34)

up
Voting closed 0

These cops obviously need more training...

...they can't distinguish a papaya from a mango!

up
Voting closed 0

Somehow, the gun and the ammunition - also manufactured out of state - then made its way to Mattapan

Someone is struggling with the concept of interstate commerce. Or interstate travel. Maybe a transporter beam was involved.

up
Voting closed 0

I put it that way because the affidavit doesn't say whether the gun was stolen and sold in Boston (a common thing) or legally bought and then sold in Boston (less common, but it does happen).

up
Voting closed 0

So exactly like illegal drugs? The stuff people smuggle in their intestines.

up
Voting closed 0