The Rhode Island Department of Attorney General has announced the indictment of two people from Providence for illegally purchasing multiple firearms.
Devin Barbosa, 29, and Shardaisa Reid, 29, are charged with three counts of straw purchasing and one count of conspiracy to straw purchase firearms. The two were accused of buying firearms in Rhode Island on behalf of people who were legally prohibited from purchasing them.
The Office of the Attorney General began its investigation into Barbosa in March 2023. During the investigation, police found that Barbosa had been arrested by Providence Police on September 19, 2021, for firing a rifle off of the back deck of his home. Police seized two guns from Barbosa’s residence at the time of his arrest.
Investigators then traced the serial numbers on the seized guns through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). They found that Reid had purchased the guns from D&L Shooting Supplies in Warwick in August and September 2021.
The ATF also found that Barbosa had made numerous phone calls to Reid while he was in prison after his September 2021 arrest. During these phone calls, Barbosa discussed the possession of the firearms that had been seized from his residence and his involvement in purchasing the guns.
Reid is scheduled to appear in court on May 10.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
