Providence man charged over 7 guns and suspected marijuana found in home search
Providence police arrested Eric Aponte, 26, on Cranston Street on 3 November 2026 and then searched his home, seizing seven firearms and several packages of suspected marijuana. He faces firearm-storage and large-capacity magazine charges and was referred to the department's narcotics bureau over the marijuana; a child in the home was placed with a relative.
🇺🇸 Cranston Street and his Providence residence, Providence, Rhode Island · Rhode Island, United States
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Arrested
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Agency
Providence Police Department Violent Crime Task Force
Providence Police arrested Eric Aponte, 26, on Cranston Street on 3 November
2026 after a months-long investigation into reports that he had multiple
firearms and was selling marijuana.[1][2][3][4]The Providence Police Violent Crime
Task Force had investigated him for several months, according to the account
drawn from the department’s statement.[5]After the arrest, investigators
executed a court-authorized search warrant at his residence.[1][2][4]
Officers seized seven firearms, including an AR-15-style rifle and a Micro Draco
rifle, along with multiple magazines, ammunition and firearm accessories.[1][2][3][4]They also seized multiple packages of suspected marijuana, a digital scale and
packaging materials.[1][2][3][4]Police found a child inside the residence where
multiple firearms were accessible, transferred the child’s custody to a family
member and notified the Department of Children, Youth and Families.[5][4]
Aponte was charged with one count of a licence to carry a pistol or revolver,
five counts of possession of large-capacity feeding devices and three counts of
unsafe storage of a firearm.[1][2]One count of License to Carry a Pistol or
Revolver, five counts of Possession of Large-Capacity Feeding Devices and three
counts of Unsafe Storage of a Firearm were listed against him.[5]Police also
referred him to the Providence Police Narcotics Bureau for additional charges
over the suspected marijuana.[1][2][4]Chief Colonel Oscar Perez said the
investigation showed the department’s commitment to holding people accountable
when their actions put the community, particularly children, at risk.[1]
Aponte was charged with manufacturing, possessing or selling marijuana with intent to manufacture or sell.[6]
Providence Police Chief Oscar Perez said the investigation showed the department’s commitment to holding people accountable when their actions put the community, particularly children, at risk.[2]
Providence police said Aponte was expected to face additional charges related to the suspected marijuana seized during the investigation.[3]
Photos and video
The seven seized firearms, magazines and accessories laid out after the Providence search warrant, in the photo published with the police account. Photo: Providence Police DepartmentPhoto details
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Source: Fall River ReporterThe seven firearms seized from Eric Aponte's Providence residence, including the AR-15 style rifle, laid out after the search warrant. Photo: Providence Police DepartmentPhoto details
WPRI.comwpri.comMan charged after police find unsecured firearms in Providence home
Fall River Reporterfallriverreporter.comRhode Island man arrested after seizure of 7 firearms, multiple large-capacity magazines, suspected marijuana, with child present
No weight was given for the suspected marijuana packages, so no kilogram figure is recorded.
No laboratory confirmation that the material was cannabis was reported; it is described only as suspected marijuana.
No marijuana charge had been filed at the time of the statements; Aponte was referred to the Providence Police Narcotics Bureau for additional charges, and no court date or outcome was reported.
The firearms charges listed (licence to carry, large-capacity feeding devices, unsafe storage) concern the firearms count; the statutory basis of the marijuana referral is not stated.
The submitted article gives the arrest only as happening "On Tuesday"; 3 November 2026 is taken from the Providence Police Department's release.
The featured portrait image is a booking-style photograph of the named individual and is not listed as media.
The statement does not say whether the searched residence was a home or business premises, nor which street it is on beyond Cranston Street for the arrest.
Patch gives no weight for the marijuana seized and does not say whether the material was laboratory-confirmed as cannabis.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in WJAR: Officials said he is expected to face additional charges related to the suspected marijuana seized during the investigation.
WJAR gives no weight for the suspected marijuana and does not say whether it was laboratory-confirmed as cannabis.
WPRI gives no weight for the suspected marijuana packages, so no kilogram figure is recorded.
The article was published on 10 November 2026, a week after the arrest; it gives no court date or outcome for Aponte.
A man was arrested at the Sierra Blanca checkpoint in Texas after a K-9 alert led to the discovery of marijuana and three firearms, one reported stolen. The driver, held on an active warrant, was turned over to local authorities for extradition.
Passenger Jamaal Parker was arrested on November 10, 2026, after a wrong-way vehicle pursuit ended in a crash in Hamilton County, Tennessee. Sheriff's deputies reported finding 4 pounds (1.81 kilograms) of concentrated marijuana (THC) valued at over $13,000 and two loaded handguns in his backpack.
Patrick Wayne Gaylor, 40, was arrested on Maple Avenue near East 6th Street in Rome, Georgia, after police stopped his vehicle over an improperly restrained five-year-old child and found marijuana. He was charged with marijuana possession, a child safety restraint violation, and a parole violation.
Palo Alto County sheriff's deputies arrested 37-year-old Baley Dietrich and 18-year-old Landen Dietrich, both of Graettinger, after a disturbance call on the morning of 9 November 2026. Both were charged with first-offense marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia and were booked into the Palo Alto County Jail to await initial appearances.
