Moroccan National Arrested for Being an Illegal Alien in Possession of Ammunition

BOSTON – A Moroccan national residing in Medford has been charged for unlawfully possessing ammunition as an illegal alien.

Ayoud Haddad, 24, was charged with one count of unlawful or illegal alien in possession of ammunition. Haddad was arrested yesterday and was ordered detained pending an hearing scheduled for March 17, 2025 in federal court in Worcester. 

According to the charging documents, Haddad, a Moroccan national, is an alien who was admitted into the United State on or about April 12, 2012, on a B-2 non-immigrant visa. Haddad’s visa was obtained by his parent on his behalf as he was a minor at the time. His visa expired on Oct. 12, 2012. 

In the afternoon of June 6, 2024, law enforcement responded to several calls reporting shots fired outside a multi-floor apartment complex in Lawrence. Surveillance footage identified one of the vehicles believed to be allegedly involved in the shooting – a white BMW leased to Haddad. Surveillance footage also allegedly identified Haddad as the driver of the vehicle. When stopped by law enforcement on June 8, 2024, Haddad was driving the BMW which authorities had towed. A search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a rifle with no serial number and 20 pieces of live .223 Remington Bronze full metal jacket rifle rounds under the hood.

In 2019, Haddad was arrested and charged by the state with carrying a firearm without a license; receiving a firearm with a defaced serial number; possession with intent to distribute a Class D substance; conspiracy to violate the drug laws; and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. It is alleged that, in or about March 2019, Haddad, was encountered by federal immigration authorities while being held at a correctional facility on these charges because his B-2 visitor visa had expired. According to the charging documents, the firearms charges were dismissed on June 10, 2019 and the remaining charges were dismissed by nolle prosequi on Sept. 4, 2020 after a period of “general continuance.”

The charge of unlawful or illegal alien in possession of ammunition provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon competition of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston; Acting Lawrence Police Chief Millix Bonilla; and Medford Police Chief Jack D. Buckley made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.