Springfield man arrested with ghost machine gun on Worthington Street

Jun 09, 2023

Jahiem Sutherland (Springfield Police Department)

by: Ashley Shook

Posted: Jun 8, 2023 / 02:30 PM EDT

Updated: Jun 8, 2023 / 02:30 PM EDT

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A Springfield man was arrested for the third time with an illegal firearm, according to police.

On Wednesday at around 6 p.m., the Springfield Police FIU have been investigating 19-year-old Jahiem Sutherland for the illegal possession of a machine gun. Detectives saw a car on the 700 block of State Street Sutherland was in. The car was then parked at a convenience store on Worthington Street when detectives detained the suspect.

A loaded large-capacity Ghost Gun loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition was seized and he was arrested. At the time of his arrest, Sutherland was out on bail wearing a GPS ankle bracelet from an open illegal firearms case. The FIU arrested Sutherland with a large-capacity Ghost Gun in August 2022 and has a previous illegal firearms conviction.

Jahiem Sutherland of Springfield is charged with the following:

The Ghost Gun had a sear selector or Glock switch that turns the firearm into a fully-automatic machine gun.

Springfield Police Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood stated, "I don't know how many times it needs to be said, but GPS bracelets should not be given to nor are deterrents to individuals who have illegal firearms charges. The accessibility of Ghost Guns is problematic as we have seized more than 20 this year alone. We are also seeing more and more fully-automatic firearms this year which is attributed to illegal Glock switches attached to Ghost Guns. Suspects who are arrested with Ghost Guns and released simply go and buy or make another Ghost Gun, it is something judges should consider when they are setting bail amounts. I would like to thank Captain Keenan and the Firearms Investigation Unit for their continued success in getting illegal guns off our streets and ultimately saving lives."

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno states, "Once again, another case of a repeat violent criminal offender back on our streets and in our neighborhoods after being released by our courts on illegal firearm charges and once again, our brave and dedication Springfield police officers rearrested the same individual on yet another illegal firearm – ghost gun, this time while wearing a GPS bracelet and out on bail. Terrific work by our men and women in blue in taking yet another illegal ghost gun off our streets, but what more do our officers have to do to keep our streets and residents safe from these gun-toting repeat offenders. They laugh at the courts and our residents knowing full well there will be no consequences for their crimes. There is something seriously wrong when a repeat offender keeps getting rearrested multiple times with illegal guns and they are allowed to be released with little to no consequences for their actions. What message is this sending to our residents, business community and even our law enforcement officials? It is our residents and businesses that suffer from the lack of justice from some judges."

Mayor Sarno continues, "This is why I will continue to fight against crime and stand up for my residents and business community and push for stronger bail reform legislation which I have again refiled through State Representative Angelo Puppolo."

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