Jury finds Providence man guilty of illegal gun possession

Published on Friday, April 19, 2024

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced that a Providence man was found guilty in Providence County Superior Court of illegally possessing a semi-automatic handgun, stemming from a traffic stop by the Providence Police Department in 2021.

On April 17, 2024, following a three-day trial before Superior Court Justice Robert D. Krause, a jury found Kwahlil Smith (age 30) guilty of one count of possession of a firearm without a license. 

The defendant is currently being held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) pending his sentencing hearing to be held at a later date.

“Gun safety laws appropriately protect the public from harm at the hands of those willing to use firearms illegally,” said Attorney General Neronha. “This defendant broke those laws, has been convicted by a jury of his peers, and he will now be held accountable. Every successful conviction of a gun crime should serve as a deterrent to those willing to violate the law. I am thankful to the men and women of the Providence Police Department for their partnership during this case and many others.”

During the trial, the State proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant possessed a 9mm Hi Point semi-automatic handgun loaded with five live rounds without a license to carry.

On April 21, 2021, Providence Police officers conducted a traffic stop at the intersection of Plainfield Street and Laurel Hill Avenue after they observed a heavily tinted, green Subaru traveling with a registration sticker that expired in 1994. During the traffic stop, officers detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana, observed a marijuana cigarette in the vehicle’s ashtray, and the defendant (the passenger) admitted to just having smoked marijuana.

Officers ordered the driver and the defendant to exit the vehicle. When conducting a frisk for officer safety, an officer immediately detected a 9mm Hi Point semi-automatic handgun in the defendant’s waistband. Another officer secured the firearm, which contained five live rounds. Officers had the vehicle towed and arrested the defendant for carrying a pistol without a license.

“The men and women of the Providence Police Department work tirelessly each day to ensure public safety,” said Providence Police Colonel Oscar L. Perez Jr. “Justice was served in this case, and I thank Detective Nadeau, Officers William Sherrill and Larissa (Vadney) Passarella, and the Attorney General’s Office for their hard work throughout the investigation and prosecution.”

Special Assistant Attorney General Alyse Antone Smyth of the Office of the Attorney General and Detective Matthew Nadeau, Officer William Sherrill, and former Officer Larissa (Vadney) Passarella of the Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of the case.

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