Crime

Methuen City Council to Consider Asking U.S. Attorney to Reopen Federal Police Case

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Methuen Mayor David P. “D.J.: Beauregard Jr. and City Councilor Mike Simard followed up Wednesday on the mayor’s recent call for U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley to reopen a federal investigation into former Methuen Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon. Beauregard and Simard are asking Methuen councilors to approve a joint resolution next Monday, telling Foley that Solomon’s recent guilty plea and jail sentence do “not answer the full set of questions surrounding the 2017 police contracts, the favors that preceded or followed the approval of those contracts, (Sean) Fountain’s appointment and continued service or the conduct of others who have never faced charges.”

They note while Solomon pleaded guilty to 17 charges, including hiring part-time intermittent officers and unlawfully appointing them to full-time jobs, there was no prosecution of the 2017 police contract “that would have made Solomon one of the highest paid law enforcement officials in the country.”

“During the following six months, Solomon gave police department jobs to two councilors, including Fountain, and elevated the relative of another councilor to the rank of police captain. In September, the Council approved a separate superior officers’ contract containing costly provisions that city leaders did not understand,” they added in the draft letter. They follow on Beauregard’s complaint last November there was a “lack of prosecution of several co-conspirators and other serious state and federal crimes,” saying Fountain “was paid at the rate of a master patrolman, allowed to work as a detective and testified in at least one murder trial.  While impersonating a duly qualified officer, he arrested and detained more than 40 people.”

Beauregard and Simard noted an earlier federal case was “mysteriously abandoned without explanation.”

Crime

Two Plead Guilty in 2025 Armed Robbery at North Andover Jewelry Store

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Two of six people involved in an armed robbery last year at a North Andover jewelry store pleaded guilty Monday in Essex County Superior Court and were sentenced to seven to 12 years in prison. Yire Abreu, 25, of the Bronx and Wilfred Mordan, 23, of Hazelton, Penn., pleaded guilty to armed and masked robbery, five counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony, carrying a firearm without a license, possessing a large-capacity-feeding device and possessing a loaded firearm. As WHAV reported, the robbery took place July 3, 2025, just before 10:30 a.m., at Milos Joyeria, 563 Chickering Road, North Andover. Abreu and Mordan admitted to their role in the robbery, including wearing masks and threatening employees and one customer inside, including, in Abreu’s case, with a firearm in hand. They also admitted to switching vehicles and leading police on a chase on Route 125 in North Andover, continuing on Interstate 495 into Lawrence before being arrested.

Crime

State Grand Jury Indicts Lawrence Mayor DePeña in Connection with Secret Recordings

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Lawrence Mayor Brian A. DePeña’s legal troubles are growing with word Thursday a statewide grand jury returned 15 indictments against him in connection with the use and distribution of surveillance footage at Lawrence City Hall. Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office said DePeña is charged with 14 counts of distribution of a wiretapped communication and one of witness intimidation. He will be arraigned in court at a later date. The new charges come five weeks after DePeña was federally charged with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly fraudulently obtaining more than $1.5 million in COVID-19 small-business loans. The state attorney general’s investigation revealed that, beginning in 2023, DePeña requested and installed a security system for his office, separate from security cameras that were already installed and maintained in City Hall.

Crime

Alleged Bat Attack at Haverhill Lounge Brings Arrest, Report to Liquor Commission

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A 22-year-old Haverhill man faces assault and battery and other charges after allegedly hitting a man’s hand with a bat, threatening another and damaging a glass door at a downtown Haverhill restaurant and lounge early last Saturday morning. Frantzdley Jean was arrested by Haverhill Police and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, assault with a dangerous weapon and malicious destruction of property following an encounter just before 1:30 a.m., at Afro-Infused, 30 Emerson St., not far from Washington Square. Despite a telephone caller’s allegation there was a shooting, police determined no shots were fired, but they found an unconscious man with a lump on his head. The man, identified as Jean, told police “They hit me,” according to a police report. A witness told officers, Jean had been expelled from Afro-Infused and allegedly returned with a red bat and struck the door of the business.

Crime

Former Methuen Police Chief Solomon to Begin Serving Jail Time

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Former Methuen Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon will begin serving 30 days in jail after, as expected, he pleaded guilty Friday to 17 charges, including hiring part-time intermittent officers and unlawfully appointing them to full-time jobs. As WHAV reported earlier this month, Solomon entered into a plea deal where he would plead guilty in Essex Superior Court to two counts of perjury by written affidavit, seven counts of obtaining unwarranted privileges in violation of the civil service laws, six counts of civil service law violations, uttering a forged document and procurement fraud. Solomon was sentenced to two and a half years in prison with 30 days to serve and lose his city pension, license to carry a firearm and private investigator’s license. “Massachusetts communities rely on their police chiefs to make the best decisions for the safety and security of residents. Former Chief Solomon broke that trust by misusing his authority to elevate unqualified officers, putting residents’ wellbeing at risk,” said Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell, who brought the case with Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker.

Crime

Correctional Officer Faces Charges After Allegedly Delivering Drugs, Phone to Prisoner

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A 33-year-old correctional officer with the Essex County Sheriff’s Department was arraigned Thursday after she was arrested for allegedly delivering illegal drugs and a cellphone to a prisoner at Middleton Jail and House of Correction. Christal Dunston of Lynn was charged with conspiracy to violate drug law, two counts of delivering drugs/articles to a prisoner and possessing drugs/articles with intent to deliver to a prisoner, according to Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker. She was arraigned in Salem District Court before Judge Randy Chapman. Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger was the first to announce the arrest. “There is absolutely no place in this Department for anyone who would jeopardize the safety of their fellow officers and the people in our custody by bringing illegal drugs into a secure facility,” Coppinger said.

Crime

Methuen Mayor Says Solomon Guilty Plea Deal Ends ‘City’s Long Nightmare’

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Methuen’s mayor said Wednesday he would have preferred a plea deal that gave former Police Chief Joseph E. Solomon more than 30 days of jail time, but he is pleased the “city’s long nightmare is finally coming to an end.”

Mayor David P. “D.J.” Beauregard Jr. said he was concerned when he first learned of a possible Solomon deal that lacked any jail time. Three years ago, a statewide grand jury indicted Soloman on two counts of perjury by written affidavit, seven counts of obtaining unwarranted privileges in violation of civil service laws, six counts of civil service law violations, uttering a forged document and procurement fraud. “Today, an agreement was reached under which Joseph Solomon will plead guilty to numerous felonies and misdemeanors, serve time in jail and remain on probation. As a consequence of these convictions, he will lose his city pension, his license to carry a firearm and his private investigator’s license,” Beauregard said in a statement. The mayor said one benefit is the loss of Solomon’s pension will reduce the city’s unfunded pension liability by approximately $3.7 million over the next 20 years.

Crime

Haverhill Man in Critical Condition with Stab Wounds, Alleged Assailant in Court

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A Haverhill man, Anthony Gonzalez, is in critical condition at Boston Medical Center with multiple stab wounds following an altercation Wednesday night with his former girlfriend’s new boyfriend. His alleged assailant, 28-year-old Jorge Luis Gonzalez, said to be of no relation, of 119 High St., Haverhill, was arraigned in Haverhill District Court Thursday following his arrest on charges of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. While he was being booked at the Haverhill Police Station, a police report says, Jorge Gonzalez allegedly confessed to stabbing Anthony Gonzalez. He is being held in the Essex County House of Correction in Middleton without bail. Cesar A. Archilla entered a plea of not guilty.