Two Boston men charged in separate gun, high-capacity magazine arrests

BOSTON, December 12, 2022 — Two Boston men were arraigned in Dorchester BMC today on separate weapons cases involving a high-powered rifle and a .40-cal pistol, District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.

ARIEL WIGGINS, 23, of Roxbury was charged with illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of ammunition and illegal possession of high-capacity feeding devices.  Judge Jonathan Tynes ordered Wiggins held in lieu of $1,500 bail.  Wiggins will return to court January 26 for a probable cause hearing.

CORY ROBINSON, 41, of Dorchester was charged with possession of a loaded firearm (third offense), illegal possession of ammunition, illegal possession of a high-capacity feeding device and attempted armed robbery.  Judge Tynes ordered Robinson held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing scheduled for December 19.

At about 9:50 a.m. on Friday, federal agents from the Boston office of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and members of the Boston police Youth Violence Strike Force executed a search warrant at Wiggins’s Minot Street, Dorchester apartment and recovered a Norinco 7.62mm rifle, three high-capacity magazines and several rounds of 7.62mm ammunition. 

On Saturday at about 8:55 p.m., Boston police officers on the lookout in Mattapan Square for a suspect in an earlier aggravated assault and attempted armed robbery spotted a man who matched the description.  When the officers approached the man, he walked away and cut through an alleyway off River Street, and then ran toward the entrance of the Mattapan bus station.  Officers apprehended the man, identified as Robinson, at the station, and then conducted a search of the alley where they found loaded Taurus .40-cal handgun with one bullet in the chamber and 11 bullets in the magazine.  An inquiry determined that gun had been reported stolen in Somerville.

Robinson has a lengthy criminal record, including firearm convictions dating back to the early 2000s. 

“These arrests and arraignments underscore yet again the presence of high-capacity weaponry on our streets and the constant danger these weapons pose to law enforcement officers and the residents of our neighborhoods,” Hayden said.

James Borghesani, Chief of Communications