AYER — On Friday, May 8, 2026, Ayer Police Chief Brian Gill issued a suspension of Ayer resident Ronald Lee’s license to carry (LTC).
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Detective Alexia T. Surprenant and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“On Sunday, May 10, 2026, Officer [Connor] Murphy and Officer [George] Fichter served Ronald Lee with his notice of LTC suspension paperwork at his residence of [# redacted] Willard Street,” Detective Suprenant said.
According to police, Ronald J. Lee, 24, is a resident of Willard Street in Ayer, MA.
Detective Suprenant said that, during the service, Officer Murphy removed a firearm from a vehicle parked in the driveway of the residence. The firearm was registered to Lee and contained a high-capacity 17-round magazine. Detective Suprenant added that Lee’s LTC card was also confiscated at that time.
“Further, Officer Murphy reported, ‘When asked if he (Ronald) had any firearms in his possession, he stated that he had one and that it was in the glovebox of his car,” Detective Suprenant said. “We then proceeded outside and I informed Ronald that I would retrieve the firearm from the glovebox. I opened the passenger door and opened the glove box (which was not locked) inside there was a handgun. I removed the handgun and cleared the firearm. There was not a round in the chamber, but there was a high-capacity magazine (17-round capacity) in the firearm that had ammunition in it.”
Detective Suprenant said that after reviewing Officer Murphy’s body-worn camera footage of the incident, she saw that after Officer Murphy notified Ronald that officers would be taking any firearms and ammunition, Ronald retrieved the vehicle keys from the kitchen and led officers outside. Ronald then unlocked the unoccupied vehicle and directed officers to the firearm, which was located in an unlocked glove box.
“It should be noted I later confirmed with Officer Murphy that he had located Ronald’s firearm within MA [registration number redacted] which is registered to [name redacted], who introduced herself to me as Ronald’s girlfriend at the time that I attempted to serve Ronald’s LTC notice of suspension. [Lee’s girlfriend] does not have an active LTC,” Detective Suprenant said.
Detective Alexia Suprenant said the location where Officer Murphy found Ronald’s handgun — in the unlocked glove box of a vehicle — constituted a violation of M.G.L. Chapter 140, Section 131L: Improper Storage of a Large-Capacity Firearm.
“Furthermore, the firearm was found with a high-capacity magazine (17RD [round]) in the firearm, which contained ammunition, in violation of M.G.L. Chapter: 269 Section 10, Possession of a Large Capacity Firearm,” Detective Suprenant said. Adding, “On Tuesday, May 12, 2026, Assistant Clerk Magistrate Damian Riddle, approved two search warrants authorizing the search of Ronald Lee (DOB [date redacted]), his residence, [# redacted] Willard Street, Ayer, MA 01432, and of a vehicle of which he has access to, specifically the 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan that is colored blue with registration plates baring MA [# redacted].”
On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, at approximately 8:36 a.m., Detective Suprenant said the warrant search of Lee’s residence began.
“Inside bedroom 1, I searched a closet covered by red curtains which contained a shelf,” Detective Suprenant said. “On top of this shelf, I located a black safe that had a number code, fingerprint, and key access to unlock the safe. However, when I removed the items from on top of this safe, the top popped open as it was not locked. When attempting to close the safe later, I realized that the safe did not latch when being closed, therefore the safe was unable to be locked.”
Detective Suprenant said that inside the safe, she located a piece of mail from National Grid with Ronald Lee’s name and address on it, along with LTC documents containing his LTC PIN and Gun Control Act paperwork. She also located 34 rounds of 9mm ammunition, a black-and-gold 17-round magazine, and a black 10-round magazine.
Ronald J. Lee, 24, of Willard Street in Ayer, was arrested and charged with the following:
- Sell/Possess Large Capacity Feeding Device
- Possess Large Capacity Feeding Device
- Possess Ammunition without FID Card
- Improper Storage of Firearm
Lee was arraigned in Ayer District Court on May 13, 2026. Following his arraignment, he was released on $2,000 cash bail under the condition that he not possess any firearms or dangerous weapons.
On June 12, 2026, Lee attended a probable cause hearing which was continued to July 23, 2026.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in May, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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