Crime

Dorchester man arrested with high-capacity ‘ghost gun’ at Puerto Rican Festival, authorities say

“The weapon recovered here is a community nightmare."

Boston police recovered a Norma 9mm Luger with one round in the chamber and 24 rounds in the magazine. Boston Police Department

By Heather Alterisio

August 3, 2022

A Dorchester man, who was arrested on a warrant while leaving the Puerto Rican Festival on Saturday night, allegedly had a high-capacity, laser-sighted “ghost gun” on him, according to a statement from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Marc Serrano, 28, was wanted on a felony warrant issued out of Roxbury District Court for aggravated assault and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (a knife), Boston police said in a statement.

Ghost guns

Officers arrested him near 46 Columbia Road in Dorchester on Saturday. During the arrest, police searched Serrano’s backpack, allegedly finding “a ghost gun equipped with a green HiLight laser attachment and an extended, high-capacity magazine capable of holding up to 31 rounds of ammunition,” the district attorney’s office said.

One round was reportedly caught between the slide and ejection port in the firearm. There was also one round in the chamber and 24 rounds in the extended magazine, according to District Attorney Kevin Hayden.

Serrano appeared in the Dorchester division of Boston Municipal Court on Monday on charges of carrying a firearm without a license as a second offense, unlawful possession of a large capacity firearm, carrying ammunition without a firearm identification card as a subsequent offense, and carrying a loaded firearm without a license, Hayden said.

A court clinician evaluated Serrano and sent him to Bridgewater State Hospital for further evaluation, the district attorney said.

“The weapon recovered here is a community nightmare,” Hayden said in a statement. “It’s capacity to cause injury and death on a multiple scale is truly frightening. We have seen the tragic outcome of firearms wielded at festivals and other large gatherings. We cannot allow weapons such as the one to wreak havoc and destruction on our neighborhoods.”

Serrano will return to court Aug. 18, at which time bail and related motions will be argued.