Police responded to reports of a gunshot on Carriage Shop Road in Falmouth. Upon arrival, they found a gray BMW which immediately sped away.

During the pursuit, the driver of the BMW, 32-year old Bryan Purdie, smashed into a car before approaching a school bus beginning to let children out. Ignoring the bus’s sign and flashing lights, he raced through the stop and only ended the chase when he was stuck in a dead-end.

Leaping out of his car, he then fled on foot but was eventually caught by police officers. In the BMW police found a female victim with head injuries.

Investigators said that Purdie broke into the woman’s home and took a shot at her, which missed. He then pistol-whipped her, striking her in the head causing injury. There were 4 other victims inside which he held at gunpoint, confiscating their cell phones so they couldn’t call 911.

The unidentified woman with head injuries made an attempt to escape but Purdie chased after her and forced her at gunpoint into his BMW.

Purdie was charged with home invasion, kidnapping, unlawful possession of a firearm, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault and battery, failing to stop for police, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident and various other associated motor vehicle offenses.

He was held on $50,000 bail pending his arraignment today.

At 10 pm last night a Trooper assigned to the State Police-Middleborough Barracks advised the barracks, over his radio, that his cruiser had just been hit by another vehicle on Cohannet Street in Taunton. The suspect vehicle remained on-scene.


Other patrols responded and determined that the driver of the other vehicle was operating under the influence of alcohol and placed him in custody.

The Trooper was transported to Morton Hospital by EMS. He was treated for minor injuries and released just before midnight.


The impaired driver, SAUL JUSTA, 44, of Taunton, was booked at State Police-Middleborough on a charge of OUI-Liquor. A bail clerk ordered him released from custody on $100 cash bail. JUSTA is scheduled to be arraigned today in Taunton District Court.

The Fall River Superior Court Clerk’s Office has scheduled the arraignment of David Reed for Friday, January 21 at 9 am in Courtroom 8 of the Fall River Justice Center. The defendant will be arraigned on an indictment charging him with Murder and Armed Robbery in connection to the previously unsolved March 2001 killing of Rose Marie Moniz in New Bedford.

The defendant, who is in custody, has already been arraigned in connection to the 2003 assault and robbery of Maribel Martinez-Alegria in New Bedford. He was arraigned in October on indictments charging him with Armed Assault with Intent to Murder and Armed Robbery. Judge Gregg Pasquale found him dangerous after a Superior Court Dangerousness Hearing was held in early November, meaning the defendant is currently held without bail.

Tomorrow’s Murder arraignment will be handled by Deputy District Attorney William McCauley and Assistant District Attorney Caleb Weiner.

The initial press release on this cold case homicide is below:

A 53-year-old SouthCoast man has been indicted for the previously unsolved 2001 cold case homicide of his half-sister, Rose Marie Moniz, in New Bedford, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III.

David Reed, a former Acushnet and New Bedford man, was indicted last week by a Bristol County Grand Jury on charges of murder and armed robbery. The defendant was also indicted in September in connection to a 2003 attempted murder and robbery of another New Bedford woman, Maribel Martinez-Alegria. The indictments were returned as a result of an extensive re-examination of evidence in the case by District Attorney Quinn’s Cold Case Unit.

“I’m pleased to announce the indictments related to the previously unsolved cold case homicide of Rose Marie Moniz. She was a mother who was brutally murdered inside the sanctity of her own home. Thanks to the efforts of my Cold Case Unit, along with detectives from our state police unit and New Bedford Police, we were able to bring some sense of relief to the victim’s family, all of whom suffered for the past 20 years from not knowing what happened to Ms. Moniz,” District Attorney Quinn said. “This case highlights what we are doing in regards to Cold Case homicides and rapes in our effort to bring justice to the families of victims and the entire community. We will continue to utilize all available resources to review cold cases and seek out new evidence. We look forward to prosecuting this case in open court.”

On the morning of March 23, 2001, the 41-year-old homicide victim’s father entered her home at 3448 Acushnet Avenue to take her to a previously scheduled doctor’s appointment. Upon entry into the home, the father found numerous kitchen items strewn all over the floor and the contents of his daughter’s purse on the living room floor. After calling out for his daughter and receiving no reply, he eventually found her deceased in a pool of blood on the bathroom floor. The father immediately contacted New Bedford Police and an investigation ensued.

It was determined Ms. Moniz had been bludgeoned to death with a fireplace poker, a conch shell and a cast iron kettle. Her purse was emptied out on the floor and an undetermined amount of cash was stolen. The autopsy report described significant trauma to her head including skull fractures, gaping lacerations and other injuries that resulted in bleeding from both ears, broken nasal bones; and a broken left cheek bone. The medical examiner also noted multiple contusions resulting from blunt trauma all over her body. Police noted that there was no sign of forced entry into the home.

After investigators excluded two potential suspects early on in the investigation, the case went cold. In 2019, investigators from District Attorney Quinn’s Cold Case Unit and a lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Crimes Unit who works with our unit, were reviewing more than 70 Bristol County cold case homicides dating back to the 1970s At that time, they began to pore over evidence and reports from the Moniz slaying. Cold Case Unit investigators reviewed the circumstances of how the conch shell was used in the bludgeoning and killing of Ms. Moniz. Autopsy photos of the victim’s face showed that the victim had suffered numerous abrasions and contusions which suggested that the spiny exterior of the conch shell made contact with the victim’s face. That suggested that the perpetrator would have to put his fingers inside the opening of the conch to hold it as firmly as was needed to strike the victim with extreme force. At the request of our office, the crime lab tested the inner areas of the shell, where one’s fingers could reach. This testing revealed a full DNA profile. This profile was then entered into CODIS and hit to David Reed, the victim’s half-brother. Testing of samples from underneath the victim’s fingernails also determined that Y-STR DNA from the defendant’s male family tree was found. Y-STR DNA technology is used as an investigatory tool.

In late August 2020, Ann Marie Robertson, a Massachusetts State Police Lieutenant assigned to the district attorney’s office, and New Bedford Police Detective Andrew Simmons attempted to interview the defendant at his residence on Milton Street in Dartmouth. After the brief interview, the defendant immediately began making plans to flee the state. The defendant initially fled to Alabama and began working at a lumber yard, but fled again once law enforcement came to his workplace to speak with him about this case. During the next year, the defendant travelled to California, Hawaii, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island in an apparent attempt to elude authorities. He was captured on September 10, 2021 sleeping at the Providence Rescue Mission shelter in Rhode Island. At that time, he had just been indicted in Bristol County on charges of Armed Assault with Intent to Murder and Armed Robbery in connection to the 2003 beating and robbery of Maribel Martinez-Alegria in New Bedford.

The assault of Ms. Alegria occurred in New Bedford on June 10, 2003. On that date, at approximately 10:45 PM, a citizen was inside his apartment located on Emma Street in New Bedford when he heard a female screaming for help. The screams he heard were coming from the direction of the Oceanside Plaza which is a short distance down a hill from Emma Street. When he opened the door to get a better look, the citizen saw the victim and noticed that she was covered in blood. The victim had been bludgeoned in the head with a tire iron. The victim described to police how the perpetrator of this assault had taken her to a secluded area in his truck, where he beat her with the weapon before pushing her out of his truck and leaving her bleeding from the head ​in the dark, isolated alley. After the assault, the suspect stole her pocketbook.

On July 31, 2003, the victim was at her home at on Durfee Street when she saw the man who had attacked her and robbed her of her pocketbook circling her neighborhood in his truck. When she saw him on that date, she immediately told other family members and attempted to call a detective who was involved in her case. While she was doing that, her nephew observed the truck drive by her house a second time. At that time, her nephew and five others individuals jumped into their minivan to follow the suspect’s truck. As they got into the minivan, the suspect drove by the home a third time allowing them to catch up to the truck. The nephew later told police that the suspect became nervous as the minivan began to follow him and attempted to lose them. While attempting to do this, the suspect’s truck struck a parked vehicle but continued to drive away in an attempt to lose them. As the minivan followed, the occupants were able to get a police officer’s attention as they followed the pickup by the New Bedford High School. A sergeant with the New Bedford Police Department observed the vehicles, called in their location and requested assistance. As a result, other cruisers were dispatched to the area of New Bedford High School to assist in stopping the pickup truck. Officer Alan Faber was approaching from the other direction in a marked cruiser with his lights on when the suspect attempted to avoid being stopped at the intersection of Hillman Street and Rockdale Avenue. The suspect attempted to avoid apprehension by crashing his pickup truck head-on into Officer Faber’s cruiser causing it significant damage and injuring the officer. Even after the crash, the suspect attempted to use his truck in an attempt to push the cruiser out of the way to facilitate his escape. Other responding officers arrived within moments of the crash and were able to apprehend the suspect. After apprehending David Reed, police brought the victim to the scene of the crash where she identified the truck and the defendant as her attacker.

The defendant was charged at the time with both the robbery and assault of the victim, and the incident involving the ramming of the police cruiser. He was released on bail. The case was scheduled for a jury trial on June 10, 2004. On that date, the defendant never appeared. He had already fled the state of Massachusetts and lived in Florida and Hawaii before moving to Alabama where he remained on the lam for almost 10 years. Reed remained a fugitive from May of 2004 until he was finally apprehended and rendited back to Massachusetts 11 years later on May 7, 2015. Unfortunately, Ms. Alegria had died in Boston just six months prior to his 2015 arrest. The charges related to her assault and robbery were dismissed without prejudice to the Commonwealth on March 25, 2016 because there was insufficient evidence at that time on which the Commonwealth could proceed to trial. Although prosecutors could not go forward on those charges at that time, Reed was held on an indictment for felony bail jumping and still had the pending District Court charges related to his attempt to flee from police and the resulting police cruiser crash. In 2016, he was sentenced to serve 3 ½ to 4 years in state prison on those charges. As a result of these convictions, Reed was also required to submit a sample of his DNA to the state DNA database. It was this submission of his DNA that ultimately would connect Reed to the murder of his half-sister, as this sample would ultimately be uploaded to CODIS and matched to the DNA profile recovered from inside of the conch shell years later. Investigators have recently been able to obtain further evidence connected to the 2003 violent assault and robbery of Ms. Alegria, which resulted in the defendant’s renewed indictment connected to that incident.

The defendant is currently being held in jail in connection to the alleged assault and robbery of Ms. Alegria. The Fall River Superior Court has yet to schedule an arraignment date for the new murder indictment. The cases will be prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney William McCauley, who heads up District Attorney Quinn’s Cold Case Unit and Assistant District Attorney Caleb Weiner. The investigators who worked closely with the prosecutors on this investigation were Massachusetts State Police Lt. Ann Marie Robertson, and New Bedford Police Det. Sgt. Andrew Simmons.

All the information contained in this press release are allegations at this time. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Although some of the work of law enforcement slowed last year in response to COVID-19, the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office continues to press forward on many fronts, including unsolved cases. Unsolved homicides are of particular importance to District Attorney Quinn because of their importance to victims’ families, the community, and law enforcement. The Cold Case Unit is dedicated to identifying the perpetrators of homicides, sexual assaults and other serious violent crimes. Lieutenant Ann Marie Robertson of the Massachusetts State Police Unresolved Crimes Unit works with the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and is assigned full-time to investigate these cases. The District Attorney has committed two prosecutors as well as administrative staff and a victim witness advocate to this specialized unit.

During the past two years, this office has been highlighting numerous cold case homicides in local and regional media.

Despite the pandemic, the Bristol District Attorney’s Office Unsolved Unit has remained very active as it continues to review every unsolved homicide that has occurred in Bristol County since 1974. In each case, a thorough examination of all reports, witness statements, and physical evidence is undertaken. Despite prior efforts to solve these cases, dramatic developments in scientific and forensic technology have provided new avenues for investigators to pursue. The rapidly developing field of genetic genealogy (combining DNA analysis with genealogy) and Y-STR DNA now allows previously unknown perpetrators of many serious violent crimes to be identified. This same technology used to identify the Golden State Killer in California was recently used by the Bristol District Attorney’s Office and led to the arrest of Ivan Keith for a series of unsolved rapes that occurred in Bristol, Plymouth, and Norfolk counties in the 1990s. Mr. Keith had evaded being identified and apprehended for more than 20 years, but as a result of this technology, he was arrested in Maine where he was living under a false name. He has since been convicted of all the rapes and is serving a 50 year state prison sentence.

Our Cold Case Unit, during the past year, has also publicly identified the now-deceased former Providence Mafia enforcer connected to a previously unsolved homicide cases from the 1990s. Kevin Hanrahan was publicly identified in May 2021 as one of the men responsible for the August 1991 slaying of Howard Ferrini, 53, of Berkley.

Recent developments in forensic technology make it possible to collect DNA from evidence in circumstances where DNA collection was not previously possible. This technology allows us to gather evidence from items today in furtherance of our unsolved investigations. District Attorney Quinn’s Cold Case Unit is reviewing every item of evidence from every homicide over the last 45 years to determine whether new leads can be developed from employing these new methods to appropriate items of evidence.

District Attorney Quinn is encouraged by the new technology and its potential to help solve these cases. Although recognizing these advances in technology, District Attorney Quinn believes that many cases are still solved “the old-fashioned way” by relying on citizens to do what is right and provide information that may be critical to solving a case.

“These are some of the worst cases we see, and many families have waited for years hoping for answers and some measure of justice,” District Attorney Quinn said “I remain committed to ensuring that this office is doing everything it can with respect to available resources and technology to solve these important cases.”

District Attorney Quinn believes that by highlighting these cases, the victims will be remembered and citizens will be reminded of these terrible crimes. He knows from experience that in many murder cases, there are people who have information that could be helpful but have kept silent for a variety of reasons. “It is never too late to do the right thing” District Attorney Quinn said. “We hope that anyone with this information will finally decide to break that silence by coming forward.”

A Cambridge man was arrested and charged today in connection with purchasing child pornography with digital currency from the dark web.

David H. Chang, 27, was charged with one count of receipt of child pornography. Following an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Marianne B. Bowler, Chang was detained pending a hearing which is set for Jan. 21, 2022.

According to the charging documents, between on or about April 2021 and January 2022, Chang used digital currency to purchase child pornography from the dark web. A search of Chang’s apartment this morning resulted in the recovery of electronic devices onto which Chang allegedly downloaded the child pornography he purchased. Additionally, Chang admitted to agents that he bought child pornography from a site on the dark web.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. Homeland Security Investigations in New Haven (Conn.) provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Tolkoff of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should call 617-748-3274.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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

“Police Seek Public’s Assistance in Identifying Body Discovered in Canal in 2021:

The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office, Lowell Police Criminal Bureau detectives, and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the body of a man discovered in the Northern Canal on Wednesday, April 21st, 2021.

The deceased is described as a white male approximately 5’7” to 5’10” and weighing 250 or more pounds. The deceased had dentures and was wearing the cross pendant pictured. The body appears to have been in the water for a month or more.

Attempts to identify the deceased through missing person records in Lowell and surrounding towns have been unsuccessful to this date. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Lowell Police Department at (978) 937-3200.”

“A man facing Massachusetts charges of assault with intent to rape, assault with a dangerous weapon, and attempts to intimidate judicial and law enforcement officials — who was being sought by the Massachusetts State Police and the US Marshals Service after he escaped from the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Boston in September – was captured Saturday after Troopers, Marshals and other police officers determined he was in rural Georgia.

A man matching the description of fugitive DARREN P. DEVINE, 30, was spotted walking on Highway 32 in Brantley County, Ga., on Saturday. Brantley County Sheriff’s Department Deputies located the man, confirmed he was DEVINE, and placed him in custody without incident.

DEVINE is wanted in Massachusetts on multiple warrants issued by Orleans District Court and Barnstable District Court on a host of charges, including assault with intent to rape, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, domestic assault and battery, strangulation, breaking and entering in the nighttime, vandalism, intimidation, possession of a Class B narcotic with intent to distribute, larceny, and motor vehicle violations. He is also wanted on a warrant from West Roxbury District Court charging him with escaping from a penal institution.

On the afternoon of September 11, 2021, while on an outdoor break, DEVINE escaped from the Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, to where he had previously been committed by a District Court judge. DEVINE scaled a high fence in the holding facility and fled on foot.

The MSP Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section (MSP VFAS) and members of a US Marshals (USMS) Boston task force began searching for DEVINE, conducting address checks, interviews, and surveillance, but did not locate him. DEVINE was known by investigators to have a history of violence and an ability to hide and survive in the woods.

MSP VFAS and the USMS task force continued to work with other state and local police agencies to search for DEVINE in numerous locations, including places in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, along the Canadian border, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. On Jan. 9, the Louisa County, Virginia, Sheriff’s Department notified MSP VFAS that DEVINE was a potential suspect in an active larceny investigation there.

Later that week, MSP VFAS and the USMS received information suggesting that DEVINE was traveling by car with his brother in the area of Savannah, Ga., and relayed the intelligence to USMS Southeast Regional Violent Fugitive Task Force, which quickly responded to the area and set up surveillance. On Thursday, Jan. 13, USMS with assistance from the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Corrections, and Deputies from various Sheriffs’ Departments located DEVINE’s brother, JORDAN DEVINE, at a convenience store. After a brief investigation JORDAN DEVINE was arrested and charged with impeding an investigation and possession of narcotics.

Law enforcement officers from the multiple Georgia agencies, utilizing foot patrols, K9s, and helicopters, converged on an approximately 3,000-acre, heavily-wooded swath of land where DARREN DEVINE was believed to be camping. On Friday evening, Deputies and Officers tracked DEVINE to a swamp and established a perimeter to ensure he could not escape. The next morning, DEVINE was spotted on the highway and arrested.

DEVINE was booked and is being held at the Brantley County Jail pending rendition to Massachusetts to answer to the charges here. A photo of DEVINE from the wanted bulletin issued by the MSP Fusion Center is included with this release.”

A Dominican national residing in Lawrence pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to conspiracy and distribution charges involving large quantities of fentanyl.

Ysrael Nunez, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl; and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and aiding and abetting. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for March 18, 2022. Nunez was charged along with co-defendant Leisy Baez-Zapata in July 2019 and were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2019.

In October 2018, agents began investigating a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl in the Lawrence area. Between October 2018 and July 2019, a cooperating witness made controlled purchases of fentanyl from the DTO and on July 24, 2019, Nunez sold the cooperating witness approximately 23 grams of fentanyl. During that meeting, they discussed the DTO supplying the cooperating witness with a kilogram of fentanyl. The following day, the cooperating witness made arrangements with Nunez to purchase a kilogram of fentanyl which Leisy Baez-Zapata subsequently delivered to the cooperating witness and an undercover agent.

On Sept. 29, 2021, Baez-Zapata was sentenced by Judge Sorokin to time served (approximately 26 months in prison) and three years of supervised release after previously pleading guilty.

The charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and distribution of 400 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

A Michigan man was arrested yesterday in Michigan in connection with his alleged involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain COVID-19-related unemployment assistance.

Devin Smith, 30, was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Smith was released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Michigan yesterday afternoon. He will appear in federal court in Boston at a later date.

In March 2020, in response to the global coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES Act provided funding to existing state unemployment insurance programs and created a new temporary federal program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). The PUA program, which in Massachusetts was administered by the Department of Unemployment Assistance, provided unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who are not eligible for other types of unemployment benefits.

According to the charging document, Smith participated in a scheme to obtain proceeds from fraudulent unemployment and PUA claims submitted in nine different states, including Massachusetts, between March and May 2020. Smith allegedly used stolen identities, including the identities of Massachusetts residents, to submit fraudulent unemployment and PUA claims and to purchase various commercial goods. Additionally, it is alleged that Smith filed multiple fraudulent unemployment and PUA claims in his own name in six different states, including in Massachusetts.

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, and forfeiture. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations made the announcement today. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the U.S. Postal Service and the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of Rollins’ Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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

“Community Alert: Have You Seen Us? Boston Police Update Most Wanted List.

If you know anything about the whereabouts of any of these individuals call CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or text the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department is interested only in your information, not your identity. Your tip is 100% anonymous.

Calls or texts to CrimeStoppers are answered by Police Officers and trained personnel who forward the information to the appropriate investigators.

You do not have to reveal your identity to the police to provide information about a crime.

*PLEASE NOTE: This information is generated and validated weekly on the date posted. It should be noted that some of these individuals may have been apprehended and verification of outstanding warrants should be conducted prior to any police action.”

Boston Police Department photo.

New Bedford detectives assigned to the Organized Crime Intelligence Bureau conducted two raids in the same shift which yielded three arrests for Fentanyl trafficking.

On January 12, detectives executed a search warrant at 161 Fillmore St. in the Presidential housing development. The target of the investigation was YAMIL ANTHONY VELZQUEZ ACEVEDO, 26. During a search of the apartment, over 196 grams of Fentanyl were located. ACEVEDO and his roommate, LUCIA PEREZ CRUZ, 47, were both taken into custody and charged with trafficking in Fentanyl in excess of 100 grams and conspiracy.

YAMIL ACEVEDO has 3 open cases in Bristol Superior Court and was last arrested in January of 2021 for trafficking in excess of 36 grams of Fentanyl in addition to other narcotics related charges. He was on home confinement and GPS monitoring at the time of this new arrest. The lead detective is Lavar Gilbert.

Later in the day, narcotics detectives executed a search warrant at 41 Campbell St. The target of the investigation was RORY BARROWS, 22. During a search of the residence, over 229 grams of Fentanyl were discovered along with cutting agent and packing materials. The defendant was also found to be in possession of crack cocaine, and $1070 that was seized as a result of the nature of his charges.

RORY BARROWS is currently on probation out of Bristol Superior court. He has two open cases in New Bedford district court and two open cases in Wareham district court. He is now charged with trafficking in excess of 200 grams of Fentanyl and possessing crack cocaine with intent to distribute. The lead detective is Timothy Soares.

The New Bedford police department remains steadfast in its campaign against the opiate epidemic which has claimed countless lives. We will continue in our struggle against the scourge of fentanyl and heroin by investigating and prosecuting all those involved in its distribution.

If you have any information on criminal activity in your neighborhood, the New Bedford Police Dept. wants to hear from you. You can leave an anonymous tip on our voicemail at (508) 991-6300 Ext. 1. You can also leave a tip at our website, www.newbedfordpd.com