A former member and leader of the New Bedford Chapter of the Massachusetts Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (“Latin Kings”) pleaded guilty yesterday to drug charges.

Jeremia Medina, a/k/a “King Sweepy,” 33, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, manufacture and possess with intent to distribute cocaine base. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for June 17, 2021.

Medina admitted to being a former Enforcer of the New Bedford Chapter of the Latin Kings, and to conspiring with other members of the Latin Kings to distribute, manufacture and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. As Enforcer, Medina was a leader of the New Bedford Chapter charged with organizing violent acts by the gang and administering violations and other violence. Medina also admitted to conspiring with other Latin Kings members and leaders to operate a vast drug trafficking network throughout New Bedford, utilizing a number of multi-unit apartment buildings controlled by the Latin Kings, known as trap houses. The evidence described at the plea hearing today included court-authorized interceptions of Medina’s phone, and a recording where he is depicted in a trap house, in front of a stove preparing to “cook” a suspected kilogram of cocaine powder into “crack” cocaine, also known as cocaine base.

The Latin Kings are a violent criminal enterprise comprised of thousands of members across the United States. The Latin Kings adhere to a national manifesto, employ an internal judiciary and use a sophisticated system of communication to maintain the hierarchy of the organization. As alleged in court documents, the gang uses drug distribution to generate revenue, and engages in violence against witnesses and rival gangs to further its influence and to protect its turf.

In December 2019, a federal grand jury returned an indictment alleging racketeering conspiracy, drug conspiracy and firearms charges against 62 leaders, members and associates of the Latin Kings. Medina is the 40th defendant to plead guilty in the case.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Commissioner Carol Mici of the Massachusetts Department of Correction; and New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro made the announcement. Valuable assistance was also provided by the FBI North Shore Gang Task Force and the Bristol County and Suffolk County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip A. Mallard and Lauren Graber of Mendell’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Eleventh grant round made possible, in part, with funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development.

The SouthCoast Community Foundation announced it is awarding $1.3 million in grants from its SouthCoast Emergency Response Fund to 20 nonprofits from the Southeastern Massachusetts region. The selected 501(c)3 organizations exhibited a proven track record of supporting immigrant households, regardless of status and serving populations whose economic hardship was exacerbated by COVID-19. The awarded funds, made possible, in part, with funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development, will be used to alleviate costs related to basic needs, such as food security, emergency childcare, housing, technology for remote work/school, transportation, and utilities.

“This is our eleventh grant round and the first of several we will be issuing from the Fund in 2021,” said John Vasconcellos, President of SouthCoast Community Foundation. “The Commonwealth’s support of our emergency response along with the generous support from families, individuals, other foundations, and businesses has allowed us to continue to respond as we did from the very start of the pandemic. We are honored to be able to lead such a powerful philanthropic response to this crisis and grateful to the amazing nonprofit partners who, every day, connect the needs of those in our community with the help they deserve.”

Grants ranging from $23,500 to $95,000 are being issued to the following grantees:

• Attleboro Area Interfaith Collaborative
• Attleboro YMCA
• Brockton Area Multi-Services, Inc.
• Brockton Family and Community Resources, Inc.
• Brockton Interfaith Community
• Brockton Neighborhood Health Center
• Catholic Social Services (Fall River)
• Community Economic Development Center of SE MA (New Bedford)
• Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores (New Bedford)
• Citizens for Citizens (Fall River)
• Health Imperatives, Inc. (Fall River)
• Hockomock Area YMCA (Attleboro)
• Immigrants’ Assistance Center (New Bedford)
• NorthStar Learning Centers (New Bedford)
• Old Colony YMCA (Brockton)
• PACE, Inc. (New Bedford)
• The Literacy Center (Attleboro)
• United Way of Greater Fall River
• United Way of Greater New Bedford
• YMCA Southcoast (New Bedford)

“We are incredibly grateful for the support of the SouthCoast Community Foundation,” said Vinnie Marturano, President & CEO of Old Colony YMCA. “The pandemic has been especially difficult for immigrant families in our community, and these funds will have a major impact on our ability to help the children and families most in need. Food insecurity and access to safe, quality childcare services are two of the most pressing issues we see every day, and we appreciate the Foundation’s investment in this work.”

The SouthCoast Community Foundation established the SouthCoast Emergency Response Fund in partnership with local funders in March of 2020. The Fund provides flexible resources to organizations that work with those most impacted by COVID19. To date, the organization has raised $8.3 million and granted $6.8 million to 132 nonprofits. Donations to the SouthCoast Emergency Fund can be made online. For general inquiries about the Fund, please contact emergencyfund@southcoastcf.org.

The Foundation is a public charity serving thousands of people throughout Southeastern Massachusetts who share a common goal of improving the quality of life through philanthropy. Since 1995, the Community Foundation has distributed $50 million from approximately 200 funds to humanitarian, educational, and cultural organizations in the region. To learn more about the Community Foundation, visit www.southcoastcf.org.

Last night a $100,000 winning ticket was sold at New Bedford’s Liquor & Convenience at 3963 Acushnet Ave.

This comes on the heels of other fortunate souls in the Commonwealth such as the $1 million ticket sold while a man was waiting for his pizza from Uno Pizzeria & Grill at the Holyoke Mall, a $100,000 Mass Cash ticket sold at Quincy Gas, a Lucky For Life ticket sold at Sam’s Variety in Quincy which was for $25,000 a year for life.

No jackpot winner was declared during Tuesday night’s Mega Millions drawing, so if you want to join this group of lucky winners you can take a chance by getting tickets for Friday’s jackpot of $79 million to be held at 11 p.m. ET.

Be sure to double-check your tickets, even old ones, because the Massachusetts State Lottery says that there are still millions of dollars in unclaimed prizes perhaps someone read their ticket wrong or simply forgot to follow up after a drawing.

“Ok guys and gals, an amazing follow-up to the picture I posted yesterday of a guy pushing a cart around the park.

I was sitting down in the park and the same guy came by again. This time he’s not getting by me until this nosey guy finds out what the heck this is all about.

This guy is a retired flight attendant and was working and just landed on his flight in Boston on 9-11. He knew a lot of the people who worked on the planes that went down. The cart is a beverage cart from an actual plane, and he is going to walk from Boston to New York at the 9-11 site pushing this thing all the way!!!!

He’s been training for a while now, his name is Paul Veneto, he is from Milton, MA. He is starting his journey on September 1st with a goal of getting to New York on September 11th.

We talked for aw hile and he’s a great guy. I’m making this public so hopefully, it will go viral and he gets a lot of attention. Good luck Paul!”-Billy Ryan.

“Troopers from the Massachusetts State Police and Officers from the Sturbridge Police Department enjoyed coffee and conversation with members of the community at yesterday’s Coffee With A Cop event at the Sturbridge Coffee House.

Visitors not only got to meet some of the Officers and Troopers who keep their communities safe, but also got to shake paws with MSP Crisis Response K9 Luna and MSP Explosives Detection K9 Pippen.

Among those who participated were Sturbridge Police Chief Earl Dessert, School Resource Officer Garrett Danna and Officers Paul Janson and David Fortier and Dispatcher Barbara Boiteau, and from MSP, Sgt. Scott Shea, Trooper Farah Gray (the community liaison officer for Troop C), Trooper Aaron Richardson, Trooper Chad Luna, who is Luna’s handler, and Trooper Scott Irish, who is Pippen’s handler. We had a blast, and look forward to doing more of these events in the coming year.”-Massachusetts State Police.

Massachusetts State Police photo.

Massachusetts State Police photo.

Massachusetts State Police photo.

“Last Friday Trooper George D’Amelio, assigned to State Police-Concord, was patrolling Route 495 northbound in Littleton. While he was traveling in the center lane prior to Exit 31 he observed a gray Ram pickup truck approach his cruiser from the rear at a high rate of speed. The truck passed Trooper D’Amelio in the left lane and, while doing so, he noticed very dark tint on the front windows. Trooper D’Amelio active his cruiser’s blue lights and initiated a traffic stop.

After the vehicle came to a full stop Trooper D’Amelio approached it and identified the operator as NATHANIEL JONES, 35, of Springfield. He informed JONES why he was stopped and proceeded to confirm the window tint level at 4% transparency, the legal limit is 35%. While speaking to JONES Trooper D’Amelio began to observe signs of impairment and requested he submit to Standardized Field Sobriety Testing in order to determine if he was safe to continue operating the vehicle. Additional cruisers, including a Sergeant who is also a Drug Recognition Expert with the Littleton Police Department, arrived on scene to assist.

After further questioning and investigation on scene Trooper D’Amelio had suspicions there were narcotics in the vehicle and requested a K-9 to respond. While waiting for the arrival of the K-9 Troopers learned the female passenger, identified as GINA BARRETTE, 27, of Agawam, had a small amount of heroin and needles in her purse, which were removed from the vehicle for the safety of the K-9. Troopers also observed a bottle of Gabapentin medication fall from the vehicle onto the pavement. The name on the bottle was not either of the vehicle’s occupants. Upon the arrival of Trooper McDevitt and his K-9 partner Dax a sweep of the vehicle was conducted, during which Dax showed interest in the back seat area.

Both JONES and BARRETTE were placed under arrest for possession of the Gabapentin and Heroin and placed in the rear of cruisers on scene. Troopers then requested a tow truck to respond and conducted an inventory of the vehicle’s contents prior to it being removed. During the inventory they located an area in the center console that showed signs of tampering, which was indicative of a possible narcotics hide. After a search of that area Troopers located additional narcotics and paraphernalia for the use and sale of illegal narcotics. In total Troopers located approximately 65 grams of suspected heroin, approximately 88 grams of suspected cocaine, and 25 Gabapentin pills.

Both occupants were transported to the Concord Barracks for booking. A bail commissioner was contacted and set bail at $10,000 for JONES and $2,500 for BARRETTE, which they were able to post. They were scheduled for arraignment at Ayer District Court on the following charges.

NATHANIEL JONES:

1. Trafficking in Heroin;
2. Trafficking in Cocaine;
3. Possession of a Class E Drug;
4. Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law;
5. Possession of a Class B Substance, subsequent offense;
6. Illegal Window Tint; and
7. Speeding.

GINA BARRETTE:
1. Trafficking in Heroin;
2. Trafficking in Cocaine;
3. Possession of a Class E Drug;
4. Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law;
5. Possession of a Class B Drug; and
6. Possession of a Class A Drug.”-Massachusetts State Police.

“Congratulations to the graduates of the 47th Corrections Officer Academy at the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office.

The class was small in numbers due to COVID restrictions, but there was enough excitement, enthusiasm and celebration for a full auditorium.

Here are some of our favorite pictures – check back tomorrow for more from the big night. Again, congrats to the newest Bristol County Corrections Officers.” -Bristol County Sheriff’s Office.

All photos by Bristol County Sheriff’s Office:

“SPRING TROUT STOCKING is now underway!

• Half a million trout will be stocked this spring.
• More than 75% of the trout will be over 12 inches.
• More than 45% of the trout will be over 14 inches.
• Over 170 lakes and ponds, and over 170 rivers and streams will be stocked in more than 220 cities and towns across Massachusetts.
• Stocking will begin in our southeast region, with other regions scheduled to start soon after as conditions improve.
Have a great spring fishing season!

Get daily stocking updates at mass.gov/trout.