Crime

Police Arrest 14-Year-Old for Alleged Shooting Murder of 19-Year-Old Last Week in Lawrence

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A 14-year-old was charged Wednesday with murder in connection with the Sept. 6 shooting of 19-year-old Angie Aristy of Lawrence. Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker said Thursday Massachusetts State Police tracked down and arrested Jobe Santiago who allegedly shot Aristy near 300 Howard St., in Lawrence. Santiago’s name, despite his age, is being released because officials exercised their “statutory authority” to try him as an adult. Lawrence Police received a 911 call last week for shots fired. Officers arrived and found a woman suffering from a gunshot wound.  She was taken to Lawrence General Hospital and subsequently died from her injuries.

Crime

Police Arrest 11 After Drug Raids in Lynn, Haverhill, Lawrence and Methuen

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A joint operation undertaken last Thursday in Lynn, Haverhill, Lawrence and Methuen brought nine arrests of Lawrence residents, two arrests of Lynn residents and the seizure of more than 18 kilograms of fentanyl, two semi-automatic pistols, $10,000, a Mercedes Benz and a portable hydraulic compartment to hide narcotics. The Massachusetts attorney general’s office, Massachusetts State Police, several local police departments and federal law enforcement agents used search warrants to access five locations in Lawrence and one each in Lynn and Methuen. “Operation Philly Special” was the result of a lengthy investigation conducted by the State Police Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction and Enforcement Team, troopers assigned to the attorney general’s office, federal Homeland Security Investigations and Salem, N.H., Police, under the direction of Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office. The investigation, which began last November based on information provided by Salem, N.H., Police focused on a Lawrence-based drug trafficking organization that was supplying fentanyl throughout the Merrimack Valley. At one target location in Lawrence, as State Police were making entry, a female tried to rush a child with a backpack out of the residence.

Crime

Judge Sends Haverhill Man to Prison for Using Stolen IDs to Spend $2 Million on Cars, Goods

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A Haverhill man, named as the ringleader in a scheme that used stolen identities to secure $2 million to buy cars and other goods, was sentenced Friday to eight and a half years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $400,000 in restitution to victims.

U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris handed down the sentence to 40-year-old Alvin Rivera, who pleaded guilty this past spring to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, two counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and three counts of false representation of a Social Security number. Separately, a similar case in New Jersey was transferred to Massachusetts for resolution. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy’s office charged Rivera used the stolen identities of United States citizens from Puerto Rico to fraudulently purchase vehicles and other merchandise and obtain and use bank accounts and credit cards. After serving in prison time, Rivera faces three years of supervised release and must pay $389,141 to victims.

Between October 2017 and September 2020, Rivera and others he supervised visited Massachusetts car dealerships to purchase late-model vehicles and applied for 100% financing. In support of the applications, they provided stolen information as proof of identification.

Crime

State and Lawrence Police Investigate Shooting Death of 19-Year-Old Woman

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State and Lawrence Police are investigating a Wednesday night shooting in Lawrence that took the life of a 19-year-old woman. Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker and Acting Lawrence Police Chief Michael McCarthy said Lawrence Police Department received a 911 call for shots fired just before 9:30 p.m., near 300 Howard St. Officers discovered Angie Aristy suffering from a gunshot wound. She was taken to Lawrence General Hospital where she was pronounced dead a short time later. No other details have yet been made available.

Crime

Judge Sends Methuen Man, 27, to Prison Two Years for Fake Pandemic Business Loans

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A 27-year-old Methuen man was sentenced late last week in U.S. District Court in Boston for using stolen identities to fraudulently obtain $452,000 in pandemic business relief money and laundering the funds. Ramon Joseph Cruz Jr. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to two years and one day in prison and three years of supervised release for obtaining a phony Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration. He was also ordered to pay restitution in an amount that will be determined at a future hearing. Last May 18, Cruz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting. According to court records, between about April and December 2020, Cruz and Darwyn Joseph conspired to use stolen identity information of U.S. citizens to apply for the loans.

Crime

N.H. State Police: Haverhill Woman Says GPS Led to Wrong-Way Driving on I-93

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A 26-year-old Haverhill woman said she relied on her GPS when she ended up driving the wrong way early yesterday morning on Interstate 93 in Salem, N.H.

New Hampshire State Police said in a press release Vanessa Dubey was arrested and charged with reckless conduct, aggravated driving while under the influence and reckless operation. Troopers Tyler Duhamel and Benjamin Olmstead report at 2:20 a.m., they were traveling southbound on I-93 when they encountered a car driving northbound in the southbound lanes. They report successfully pulling the driver over as she passed the exit 1 off ramp. Troopers report Dubey said she was “following her GPS” at the time. They said the area Dubey entered the highway is unknown as Troopers were able to intercept this vehicle before any reports to 911 were made.

Crime

Methuen Traffic Stop Brings Arrest of Maine Man, Seizure of Suspected Heroin and Cocaine

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A 43-year-old, Manchester, Maine, man allegedly driving “erratically” in Methuen caught the attention of a State Police trooper Sunday and ultimately brought the seizure of suspected cocaine and heroin. Trooper Matthew DeVito, assigned to the Troop A Community Action Team, was patrolling shortly after 10 p.m., Sunday, along Route 110 in Methuen. According to a report, he observed a black Chevrolet Silverado pass his cruiser erratically. DeVito followed the truck to Interstate 495 where the driver allegedly came close to a collision, prompting a traffic stop. DeVito reported the driver, Nicholas Drayton, provided “inconsistencies in his story” and the officer said he spotted signs consistent with recent use of illegal narcotics.

Crime

Federal Judge Sentences Lawrence Man to Seven Years in Prison for Being a Felon with a Gun

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A 39-year-old Lawrence man was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Boston for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Stephen Skeirik was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to seven years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. This past May, Skeirik pleaded guilty to the same charges. On Feb. 27, 2020, police saw Skeirik and another person involved in what appeared to be a drug deal.