Woonsocket man accused of ghost gun possession, drug trafficking

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — A Woonsocket man was charged with ghost gun possession and drug trafficking, prosecutors said Friday.

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said Douglas Fagundes was arrested following a lengthy investigation involving the Rhode Island Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Providence Police Department’s Narcotics Bureau, and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections Special Investigations Unit.

Investigators took Fagundes in custody on Monday and charged him with ghost gun and drug trafficking offenses. He additionally faces one count of failure to register as a sex offender.

Fagundes was being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions for the new charges and as a probation violator.

Toward the end of 2022, authorities launched an investigation into suspected violation of firearms laws.

Investigators said Fagundes had three ghost gun kits on hold from someone until his scheduled release from the ACI on Oct. 1 of this year.

In addition, investigators surveilled phone calls between Fagundes and inmates after his release.

He allegedly referred to having ghost guns in the calls and said he was staying in an apartment in Warwick, despite being registered as a resident of Woonsocket.

Authorities searched his Warwick residence and seized one ghost gun, about 246 grams of marijuana, packaging material, and a scale.

Fagundes has a violation hearing in Kent County Superior Court on Nov. 20.