on 01-31-2009 04:11

By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET - A former gun shop owner who allegedly had a sizeable cache of drugs and firearms at his Pawtucket house was charged by Rhode Island State Police Thursday with trafficking marijuana and other offenses.

Joab Coderre, 29, of 196 Sweet Ave., was taken into custody by members of the state police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) and Pawtucket Police after they executed a court authorized search warrant.
State Police Lt. David S. Neill, assistant detective commander, said that during the past two weeks, members of the HIDTA received information that a male subject, later identified as Coderre, was storing and distributing large amounts of marijuana from his residence in Pawtucket. Police also learned that Coderre had been the owner of Valley Firearms, formerly of  711 Providence St., West Warwick. The firearms store has been closed since September.
Neill said that, once inside Coderre's residence, officers seized 4 pounds of marijuana, narcotics paraphernalia, numerous firearms, including high-powered assault rifles, shotguns and pistols, and ammunition.
The marijuana was seized from a safe stored in a shed in the backyard of the house, Neill said. The firearms were reportedly found stored in several safes and in different locations throughout the residence. A total of 93 firearms was reportedly seized by police, including 14 shotguns, 30 rifles, 35 semi-automatic pistols and 14 revolvers. Two of the handguns, which were loaded, were found in Coderre's bedroom, Neill added.
"We knew the subject had been a previous gun shop owner, but we were still surprised at the extent of the guns that he had," said Neill. He acknowledged that while the guns had likely been part of Coderre's store inventory, having the firearms on the premises along with the drugs made the possession a criminal offense.
Neill also said that the HIDTA members were concerned about the large number of firearms in the house, noting that in the event of a home invasion or other type of robbery, it could mean having many more guns out on the streets and in the wrong hands.
According to Pawtucket Police Detectives Lt. Thomas Campbell, Detective Scott Sullivan was assigned to the investigation and took part in the raid.
Coderre was returned to State Police headquarters, where he was arraigned before the bail commissioner on charges of possession of marijuana, one to five kilograms; possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of firearms while committing a crime of violence.
Coderre was ordered held without bail at the ACI.