Providence man sentenced to 8 years in state prison for possessing illegal firearm equipped with auto sear

 

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced today that a Providence man has been sentenced in Providence County Superior Court to serve eight years at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI) after pleading to illegally carrying a pistol that was modified to fire automatically through the use of a device known as an auto sear.

 

On February 20, 2024, Terrance Fisher (age 28) entered a plea of nolo contendere to one count of carrying a pistol without a license and one count of possession of a pistol that was modified to fire automatically.

 

Following his plea, Superior Court Justice Kristin E. Rodgers sentenced the defendant to 20 years, with eight years to serve at the ACI and a 12-year suspended sentence with 20 years of probation.

 

“So much of the gun violence in our communities is driven by illegal guns getting into the hands of those who will readily use them,” said Attorney General Neronha. “This defendant roamed a neighborhood park with a gun illegally modified to fire automatically, which has the potential to cause unthinkable carnage. I thank the efforts of the Providence Police Departments and commend the hard work by the prosecutors from our Office for their work on this case.”

 

Had the case proceeded to a trial, the State was prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant illegally carried an illegally modified pistol through a neighborhood park.

 

On April 13, 2023, members of the Providence Police Department responded to a dispatch call stating that a man dressed in all black was in possession of a firearm in Billy Taylor Park. The park is known to law enforcement as a hot spot for  the East Side street gang.

 

Following the call, investigators from the Providence Police Department’s Violent Crime Task Force responded to the park. When investigators entered the park, they observed the defendant grab his waistband before he fled the scene, tossing an object over a nearby fence. Investigators apprehended the defendant and later recovered the object, a .40 caliber Glock-22 Gen 4 pistol with a laser attachment, outfitted with an auto sear to allow the pistol to fire fully automatically.

 

“The men and women of the Providence Police Department are ever vigilant in their pursuit of preventing violent crime, particularly those involving a firearm, within our community,” said Providence Police Colonel Oscar L. Perez, Jr. “Here, investigators acted swiftly to remove a dangerous defendant and weapon from the community. I praise the efforts of all those involved in the investigation and prosecution of this case.”

 

Special Assistant Attorney General Edward G. Mullaney of the Office of the Attorney General and Investigators Ryan Malloy and Scott Campbell of the Providence Police Department led the investigation and prosecution of this case.

 

 

A key report shows wholesale inflation slowed last month. The July Producer Price Index shows a rise of zero-point-one percent. The PPI measures prices that businesses receive for goods and services. Economists had been expecting a slightly higher increase, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal.        Over one-point-three million people tuned into Elon Musk's conversation with former President Trump on X last night. Some technical issues delayed the conversation, but the pair still spoke for over two hours. They discussed the attempted assassination of Trump in Pennsylvania, immigration, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the threat of global warming, and more.        Voters are heading to the polls for primary elections in Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont, and Wisconsin today. In Minnesota, progressive Congresswoman Ilhan Omar will defend her seat against former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels. The contest comes after two other members of the so-called progressive "Squad," Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush, lost their Democratic primaries this cycle.        Tropical Storm Ernesto isn't expected to hit the U.S. mainland as it heads up the Atlantic Ocean. Current forecasts show the storm will bring heavy rain and flooding to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands today. The National Hurricane Center says Ernesto will then head northward and into the Atlantic.        A former Colorado clerk is facing up to 22 years in prison for election tampering. Tina Peters was convicted yesterday and will be sentenced in October. Prosecutors argued she let an unauthorized person access Mesa County's voting equipment in 2021 and make a copy of hard drives, as well as pictures of passwords, and then tried to cover it up.        U.S. gymnast Jordan Chiles will not have her appeal heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee said it would take away her bronze medal because of a scoring error. Monday, USA Gymnastics said in a statement that it was notified that CAS rules don't allow for an arbitral award to be reconsidered.