A federal grand jury has indicted Ayoub Haddad, a 24-year-old Moroccan national living in Medford, on one count of being an unlawful alien in possession of ammunition. Haddad was arrested and charged in March 2025.
According to charging documents, Haddad entered the United States in April 2012 on a temporary B-2 non-immigrant visa obtained by his parent while he was a minor. His visa expired six months later, in October 2012, and he did not have legal status to remain in the country after that time.
Court records indicate that in March 2019, Haddad was held at South Bay Correctional Facility following charges filed in Chelsea District Court related to firearm offenses, drug distribution, and motor vehicle violations. These charges were dismissed after a period of general continuance.
Authorities allege that in June 2024, Haddad was identified as the driver of a vehicle involved in a shooting outside an apartment complex in Lawrence. During a search of his vehicle, law enforcement allegedly found an AR-15 style rifle without a serial number wrapped inside a black t-shirt and placed between the radiator and engine block under the hood. They also allegedly discovered twenty live .223 Remington Bronze full metal jacket rifle rounds under the hood.
If convicted on the charge of being an unlawful alien in possession of ammunition, Haddad faces up to ten years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Upon completion of any sentence imposed, he is subject to deportation proceedings. Sentencing decisions will be made by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes.
“United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Bryan DiGirolamo, Acting 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; Lawrence Police Chief Maurice Aguiler; and Medford Police Chief Buckley made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.”
“The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.”
