Police Seize Fentanyl, Gun During Taunton Raid

TAUNTON (WBSM) — Two people were arrested and drugs and a firearm were taken off the streets following a raid in Taunton on Wednesday.

Reported Handgun Assault Led Police to Stanley Avenue

According to a Taunton Police release, officers were dispatched at about 12:09 p.m. on May 6 to the parking lot of a local business for a reported disturbance involving a firearm. They arrived to learn that a man had allegedly been assaulted with a handgun at a nearby residence following an argument over money.

Officers then proceeded to a residence at 7 Stanley Avenue to investigate the alleged assault. Police obtained a search warrant, and with the help of members of the Taunton Police Street Crimes Unit, they were able to arrest two people at the scene. They were identified as Shawana Ann Leslie, 37, of Taunton, and Douglas A. Norris, 47, of Boston.

Get our free mobile app

Search Warrant Revealed Drugs and Loaded Firearm

The search of the apartment turned up a Taurus handgun loaded with five rounds of .380-caliber ammunition and two black backpacks containing suspected narcotics.

Inside the backpacks, police found approximately 3.4 grams of suspected cocaine, 18 grams of suspected crack cocaine, about 140.6 grams of suspected fentanyl, 21 marijuana cigarettes, and two large plastic bags filled with marijuana buds. Several items associated with drug distribution were also seized.

Two Suspects Face Serious Drug and Gun Charges

Leslie is charged with reckless endangerment of a child, possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of ammunition without an FID card, accessory before the fact, cocaine trafficking (greater than 18 grams but less than 36 grams), and fentanyl trafficking (more than 10 grams).

Norris was charged with reckless endangerment of a child, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of ammunition without an FID card (subsequent offense), firearm violation with two prior violent/drug crimes, cocaine trafficking (greater than 18 grams but less than 36 grams), and fentanyl trafficking (more than 10 grams).

They were both expected to be arraigned Thursday in Taunton District Court.