In the early hours of Monday morning, a neighborhood in Webster, Massachusetts, was disturbed as local law enforcement responded to a suspicious exchange between two cars in a shopping plaza—an incident that led to serious firearms and drug charges against 27-year-old convicted felon Shain West of Springfield.

According to a Facebook post by the Webster Police Department (WPD) , the officers involved were conducting surveillance targeting suspected drug activities when they observed a Chevy Malibu, driven by West, and another car exhibiting behavior consistent with a drug transaction; the vehicles soon left the plaza and were observed by the officers who took note that the car was registered out of Springfield, a detail that presented an additional red flag for officers familiar with the area's challenges.

Officer Johnson, one of the four officers on the scene, initiated a traffic stop on Washington Street after noticing the vehicle had a defective license plate light, during which he observed West making suspicious movements around the car's center console. Having engaged with West, who was established to have been driving without a valid license, an interior check of the vehicle was conducted by the WPD officers; the search revealed a trove of contraband including a loaded .22 caliber Smith and Wesson handgun, ammunition of various calibers, marijuana, a scale, and sandwich bags – illegal possessions given West’s federal restriction from bearing arms or ammunition.

The arresting officers further discovered a significant cache of drugs and a "high capacity" magazine during the ongoing search of the interior, comprising two large bags of marijuana totaling three ounces, West, who has been previously convicted of aggravated assault and battery alongside robbery in 2018 and served a prison term of four to six years, now faces a slew of charges including "Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle," "Number Plate Violation," "Carrying a Firearm Without a License," and "Possession with Intent to Distribute Class D," among other offenses, culminating in his arrest and a set bail of $10,000 at the WPD station.

The subsequent arraignment took place the following morning at the Dudley District Court, where West was held pending a dangerousness hearing, underscoring that all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.