State and Brockton Police, DEA Investigation Leads to Four Arrests, Three Seized Guns in Brockton

Massachusetts State Police, Brockton Police, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration yesterday arrested four men and seized three guns, ammunition, and drugs believed to be Fentanyl and cocaine in the culmination of a two-month investigation.

Troopers from the State Police Gang Unit and other MSP teams, along with Brockton officers and detectives and a DEA agent, simultaneously executed three search warrants on apartments at 477, 559, and 567 Warren Avenue and a fourth warrant on a 2004 Jeep Cherokee that police had under surveillance on Warren Avenue.

Those search warrants, along with arrest warrants for STEVE GOMES DEPINA, 28, of Brockton, were obtained earlier yesterday by MSP Gang Unit troopers following the two-month joint investigation, during which DEPINA sold heroin and fentanyl to an undercover Brockton detective on six separate occasions.

DEPINA was located in the Jeep Cherokee that Gang Unit troopers followed late yesterday afternoon until it pulled into a driveway at his address, 477 Warren Ave., one of the target locations of the investigation. DEPINA was immediately taken into custody. The search warrant executed on the Jeep resulted in recovery of a clear plastic bag containing approximately 8 grams of white powder believed to Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic narcotic.

A team of state troopers and Brockton officers searching the basement of 477 Warren Ave. – where they had information that DEPINA had been earlier in the day – located a Glock 23 40-caliber handgun with 12 40-caliber rounds in its high-capacity magazine. Police also found in the basement a small amount of suspected Fentanyl in a cigarette pack, a digital scale, and plastic baggies cut in a manner consistent with the packaging of narcotics for sale, as well as paperwork in DEPINA’s name.

Detectives also obtained additional evidence indicating that DEPINA was the only resident of the building who used the basement. DEPINA is charged with the warrants for narcotic sales, as well as unlawful possession of a firearm; possession of a large capacity firearm; unlawful possession of ammunition; possession of a firearm without an FID card; possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute; and driving with a suspended license.

Simultaneously, a second arrest team of state troopers and Brockton officers, along with a DEA special agent, and assisted by the State Police Special Tactical Operations (STOP) Team, executed a search warrant at 567 Warren Ave. Four men were in the second floor apartment; two of them were determined to not be connected to the investigation and were released. Two others – MIGUEL FIDALGO, 32, of that address, and JOSHUA PIRES, 25, of Dorchester – were taken into custody.

During the search, police found FIDALGO in possession of a clear plastic bag containing seven small twisted baggies of a white substance believed to be cocaine. A search of a bedroom turned up a Smith & Wesson 1911 45-caliber handgun with seven 45-caliber rounds in the magazine, later determined to have been stolen out of Billerica. The search also recovered a digital scale. FIDALGO is charged with possession of a firearm without an FID card; unlawful possession of ammunition; receiving stolen property; and possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute.

PIRES, meanwhile, gave police permission to search his Infinity, which was parked in the building’s rear lot. In the dashboard console, police located a clear plastic bag containing five small twist baggies of cocaine. PIRES is charged with possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute.

The third search was simultaneously executed at 599 Warren Avenue. Police made entry into the second floor apartment. While they were on scene, two residents of the apartment, JOAO PIRES-DEPINA, and a woman, arrived at the building. During the search, police located a 40-caliber Highpoint handgun inside a suitcase, wrapped in a red bandana. Located in a box in a bedroom closet were six 40-caliber rounds. As a result, JOAO PIRES-DEPINA, 33, was arrested. He is charged with possession of a firearm without an FID card and unlawful possession of ammunition.

Also seized during the searches and arrests, from two separate locations, was a total of $1,065 in US currency.

The four defendants were transported to the Brockton Police Department for booking; seized evidence was secured at the Brockton Police station.