BOSTON, March 28, 2017—Three people were held on high bail and two more will be arraigned tomorrow in connection with a major seizure of the opiate fentanyl and other drugs at a Charlestown restaurant, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
Assistant District Attorney Caroline Merck recommended bail of $200,000 for the following defendants, all charged with trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute heroin:
- ROSSELYS ESTHEFANIE PIMENTAL-MELO, 23, of Charlestown, held on $100,000 and represented by attorney John Carey;
- MATEA SANCHEZ, 60, of Charlestown, held on $50,000 and represented by attorney Rob Gracioso; and
- JUAN GUERRERO-TEJEDA, 28, of Charlestown, held on $80,000 and represented by attorney William Keefe.
In addition to setting bail, Charlestown Municipal Court Judge Lawrence McCormick granted Merck’s request for GPS monitoring and stay-away orders.
Two additional defendants, RAPHAEL PIMENTAL, 46, and ADA MEJIA-MEJIA, 40, both of Charlestown, will be arraigned tomorrow.
Merck told the court that a task force of Boston Police, State Police, and agents of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Boston Strike Force concluded a lengthy investigation yesterday with a search warrant at the D’Raffa Restaurant on Bunker Hill Street yesterday afternoon. Upon entry, they observed Pimental in the basement and Guerrero-Tejeda, Mejia-Mejia, Pimental-Melo, and Sanchez behind the counter.
Investigators recovered approximately 520 grams of a white powder that field-tested positive for fentanyl behind a freezer in the restaurant’s basement. In a shelving unit underneath the cash register behind the counter, they recovered four plastic bags: one containing seven smaller bags of what appeared to be powder cocaine; one containing 10 smaller bags of what appeared to be heroin; and two containing a total of 22 smaller bags of what appeared to be crack cocaine.
“When overdoses claim three times more lives than gun violence and car crashes combined, we can’t pretend that drug trafficking is a victimless crime,” Conley said. “It goes hand in hand with violence, death, and despair. This investigation and seizure saved lives.”
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
