Crime

Federal Judge Sentences Haverhill Man, 26, to Eight Years in Prison for Drug Dealing

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A 26-year-old Haverhill man was sentenced this week in federal court in Boston for distributing cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl and conspiring to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Elijah Declet was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to eight years in prison and four years of supervised release. Declet pleaded guilty March 29. Declet was charged in November 2021 along with 12 others in connection with a large drug conspiracy centering around the Gangster Disciples in Lawrence, Haverhill and Methuen. The investigation, which began in August 2020, intercepted communications between gang leaders, members and drug suppliers relating to their alleged distribution of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine and Suboxone in Massachusetts, Maine and southern New Hampshire as well as into Essex County Jail.

Crime

Haverhill Man, 19, Pleads Guilty in Federal Court for Role in Stealing 11 Pistols, Rifle from Dealer

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A 19-year-old Haverhill man is the latest to be sentenced in federal court in Concord, N.H., for his role in conspiring to steal firearms from a dealer. U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young said Gary Ortiz Jr., 19, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante to 21 months in prison and two years of supervised release.  Ortiz was also ordered to pay $5,100 in restitution. As WHAV reported earlier, Ortiz pleaded guilty May 1. He and Jaythean Diaz of Lawrence were charged with breaking into Second Amendment Outdoors in Derry, N.H., and stealing 11 pistols and one rifle. They were indicted last year.

Crime

Methuen Police Arrest Two on Alleged Fentanyl and Crack Cocaine Dealing

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Methuen police last week seized fentanyl and crack cocaine and arrested two for alleged drug dealing. Methuen Police Chief Scott J. McNamara said Friday the department’s Street Crimes Unit was alerted when officers saw several people “acting suspiciously” at 10:40, Wednesday morning, in a parking lot on Haverhill Street. After watching them for several hours, detectives saw what they believed to be a drug deal inside of a local restaurant. They arrested 42-year-old Jose Alcantara of Lawrence and 52-year-old Grady Fox of Lewiston, Maine, and charged both with trafficking 100 to 200 grams fentanyl and possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute. Alcantara was also charged with possession of a class a substance with intent to distribute.

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.