Pawtucket Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Gun with Wiped Serial

Justice Reyes, 20, of Pawtucket, pleaded guilty today in federal court to selling a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle with an obliterated serial number—an act he admitted while still under court-ordered home confinement for a domestic assault charge.

The transaction went down on April 1, 2016, outside Reyes’s Pawtucket residence, where he handed over the firearm to an undercover Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent in exchange for $350. Moments after the sale, federal agents moved in and arrested him. At the time of the deal, Reyes was less than two weeks into a one-year home confinement sentence handed down by Rhode Island state court.

Reyes didn’t hide the weapon’s origins—he explicitly told the undercover agent the serial number had been scratched off and bragged he could supply more guns just like it. That admission, captured during the sting, became a cornerstone of the federal case. The firearm was later confirmed to have its serial number intentionally defaced, a federal offense carrying up to 10 years in prison.

His criminal misstep came shortly after pleading nolo contendere to simple assault domestic in state court on January 29, 2016. After violating the terms of that sentence, Reyes was slapped with home confinement on March 17, 2016. He began serving it immediately—just 15 days before selling the weapon to federal agents.

The guilty plea was entered before U.S. District Court Chief Judge William E. Smith. Reyes has been in federal custody since his arrest and is scheduled for sentencing on June 5, 2017. He now faces up to a decade behind bars, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

The case was investigated by the ATF and the Rhode Island ATF Task Force, with support from the Pawtucket Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Milind M. Shah. U.S. Attorney Peter F. Neronha and ATF Special Agent in Charge Mickey Leadingham confirmed the plea announcement.

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