AG: Mass. man faked residency to purchase arsenal of illegal firearms, including 16 assault weapons

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A Massachusetts man is facing criminal charges after investigators say he faked his residency to purchase an arsenal of assault-style weapons in an attempt to circumvent state law.

Joshua Rosa-Reyes, 29, of Fall River, was arraigned earlier this month in Second Division District Court in Newport, Rhode Island, on charges including eight counts of providing false information in securing a firearm and one count of providing false statement to fraudulently obtain a license or registration, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced Thursday.

Rosa-Reyes provided a false address in Pawtucket to obtain a Rhode Island driver’s license before providing that address on state and federal firearms applications at two licensed dealers to acquire eight assault-style weapons between May and August 2023, court documents allege.

State and federal investigators executed a search warrant at Rosa-Reyes’ home in Fall River in August and seized 30 firearms, including 16 assault-style weapons, 46 large capacity magazines, and thousands of rounds of ammunition that he allegedly purchased in the Ocean State, according to the documents.

Additional searches at two storage units in Massachusetts that belonged to Rosa-Reyes yielded a Glock-style ghost gun, an AK-47 assault weapon, a .357 Magnum revolver, ammunition, over one hundred large-capacity feeding devices, various other gun parts, and $10,000 in cash, investigators said.

An investigation into Rosa-Reyes remains ongoing.

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