Two charged in Providence for straw purchasing guns

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha said that two people from Providence were charged for straw purchasing firearms, which is when a person buys a firearm for a person legally prohibited from buying one.

29-year-old Devin Barbosa and 29-year-old Shardaisa Joi Reid were both charged with three counts of straw purchasing a firearm and one count of conspiracy to straw purchase firearms.

Neronha said that investigations into Barbosa began in March 2023 for firearms trafficking. He was  prohibited from possessing a firearm due to multiple arrests in 2018 and 2020, and was also arrested in 2021 for firing a gun off the back porch of his residence.

The investigation found that Reid had allegedly purchased three firearms for Barbosa prior to the 2021 arrest by reviewing phone calls from when Barbosa was incarcerated and from surveillance video from where the guns were purchased.

Both defendants are scheduled for arraignment on May 10.