Crime

Mass. State Police Arrest 23, Including Haverhill Man, Seize 74,000 Pills in Raid

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A 30-year-old Haverhill man was among 23 people arrested Tuesday and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute more than 74,000 counterfeit prescription pills containing, what State Police called, “deadly narcotics.”

David Delauri of Haverhill, was among those charged in connection with a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization that allegedly manufactured and distributed tens of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills. According to Massachusetts State Police Wednesday, brothers Lawrence Michael Nagle of Saugus and Christopher Nagle of Revere were identified in 2018 as leaders of a drug trafficking group distributing various controlled substances. It is alleged that the Nagle organization distributed significant quantities of drugs, including Adderall—both pharmaceutical-grade pills and counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, methamphetamine, Xanax, Oxycodone—both pharmaceutical-grade and counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana, among others. They allegedly distributed drugs to a small network who would redistribute the drug, including separate, but interconnected, organizations headed by Nelson Mora of Lynn, Javier Bello of Beverly and Anthony Bryson of Billerica. It is alleged that Mora, Bello and Bryson obtained their drug supply from other sources at times and that Mora and Bryson had access to pill press machines used to create counterfeit pills.

Crime

Salem Superior Court Jury Finds Lawrence Police Officer Guilty of Raping 13-Year-Old

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A Lawrence Police officer was convicted Tuesday in Salem Superior Court on charges he engaged in sexual acts with a 13-year-old boy he met on a dating app. After deliberating for about four hours, a jury found 53-year-old Carlos Vieira guilty of two counts of aggravated rape of a child and indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. Judge Thomas Drechsler revoked Vieira’s bail and he was jailed pending sentencing scheduled for Nov. 4. “This verdict makes clear that no one is above the law and this young man was victimized by someone he should have been able to trust,” Essex County District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett said.

Crime

Officials Charge Manchester, N.H., Man in Murder of Five-Year-Old Girl With Haverhill Ties

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The father of a missing girl with Haverhill connections was arrested Monday and charged with repeatedly striking his daughter in the head with a closed fist, causing her death. Thirty-two-year-old Adam Montgomery of Manchester, N.H., was arrested and charged with the murder of Harmony Montgomery, who was five at the time, on Dec. 7, 2019, according to N.H. Attorney General John M. Formella and Manchester Police Chief Allen D. Aldenberg. Adam Montgomery was charged with second degree murder for “recklessly causing the death” of a person under 13 years of age, “under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

The father was also charged with “falsifying physical evidence for purposely altering, destroying, concealing or removing the body of Harmony Montgomery between approximately Dec. 7, 2019 and March 4, 2020; abuse of a for the purpose of “removing, concealing or destroying” it during the same timeframe in Manchester; and attempting to cause the girl’s stepmother to testify falsely through this past Jan.

Crime

Jury Finds 21-Year-Old Guilty of 2nd-Degree Murder in 2020 Stabbing Death at Haverhill Stadium

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A now-21-year-old Haverhill man was found guilty Wednesday afternoon of second-degree murder in the 2020 stabbing death of a 19-year-old after over a fight involving a former girlfriend. A jury in Salem Superior Court found Oscar Quinones, formerly of 22 Sunrise Drive, Bradford, guilty in the slaying of Efrain Maisonet, also of Haverhill, April 7, 2020 in a parking lot behind Haverhill Stadium. Judge Kathleen McCarthy-Neyman has scheduled sentencing for Nov. 10. Essex County Assistant District Attorney Erin Bellavia convinced jurors Quinones met Maisonet to fight after Quinones “felt disrespected” because Maisonet was seeing his former girlfriend.

Crime

Police Arrest 76-Year-Old Man, Charging Him With Trying to Lure Away Students at Bus Stop

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A 76-year-old Haverhill man is under arrest and charged with allegedly trying to lure into his car students waiting for a school bus Wednesday morning. Following an investigation, police said John Perrault of Haverhill was charged with enticement and driving with a revoked license after police received report of an older man approaching female students at their bus stop near Brookline Avenue and Main Street. “An adult witness observed the suspicious behavior and intervened, compelling the suspicious male to drive off. The schools were notified, and police quickly developed a suspect and an intense search for the suspect ensued. Bus stops were continuously monitored and other communities were notified,” Haverhill Police said in a statement.

Crime

Salisbury Man and Former Tyngsborough Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Gun Charges, Bank Fraud

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A Salisbury resident and former Tyngsborough police officer who hid the source of Chinese money to build a large indoor shooting range, among other violations, pleaded guilty last Thursday. Daniel Whitman, 37, pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy, two counts of bank fraud, two counts of making false statements to a bank, possession of an unregistered firearm, conspiracy to violate provisions of the National Firearms Act, making a firearm in violation of the law and transferring a firearm in violation of the law. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris in Boston scheduled sentencing for next Jan. 27. Whitman was arrested and charged in January 2021 and was later indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2021.

Crime

Seabrook Man Who Allegedly Stole Home Improvement Deposits in Haverhill, Other Towns, in Court

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A 32-year-old Seabrook, N.H., man wanted for allegedly stealing home improvement deposits in Haverhill, West Newbury and other area communities, was arraigned on larceny charges Wednesday in Newburyport District Court and ordered held on $50,000 cash bail. Robert J. Merrill was arrested Tuesday in Marblehead on six warrants as the result of an investigation involving Newburyport and Marblehead Police Departments and other agencies. Merrill was charged with larceny greater than $1,200. Newburyport City Marshal Mark Murray and Marblehead Police Chief Dennis King said in a statement the departments worked together to find and arrest the local contractor. “This was a lengthy investigation into alleged crimes that cost homeowners tens of thousands of dollars, and this arrest is the direct result of the collaborative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies,” said Murray.

Crime

Methuen Man to Serve Seven Years in Prison for Dealing in the Deadly Drug Fentanyl

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A 25-year-old Methuen man was sentenced last Friday to seven years in prison and four years of supervised release for selling drugs five different times to an undercover agent. Andi Guerrero-Lara was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns. Guerrero-Lara pleaded guilty last Jan. 5 to seven charges, including conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl, three counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 10 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl, two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 10 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and 40 grams or more of fentanyl. “This individual pumped deadly opioids into our neighborhoods and, when he was finally exposed, recklessly endangered multiple lives in lengthy, a high-speed car chase,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins.