DIEGO MEJIA arrest

On April 14, 2015, I was assigned to Somerville Police Criminal Investigation Division as Delta 13, working from 4 PM – 12AM. During this particular shift, SGT. Detective Warren Chaille was working with me. We were operating an unmarked silver Ford Taurus equipped with emergency lights, and a siren.

At approximately 19:15 hours, we were traveling along Washington St, heading east. We observed a white male walking in the same direction near Buddy’s Diner. He appeared to be stuffing something into his groin area of his pants, and when he noticed we were watching him, he quickly entered into a yard on the of 111/109 Washington St. We pulled over to observe him, and possibly speak to him. This male stopped briefly for a moment inside the yard, and then disappeared into the rear.

We then proceeded to drive onto Knowlton St, believing this person had climbed the rear fence from the property on Washington St, and would exit onto Knowlton St. While were approaching the intersection of Morton St., and Knowlton St. there was a silver Subaru Forester stopped at the corner, however it was not pulled into a spot and sticking out into the street, forcing other MV’s to drive around it. The MV was bearing MA reg K8680. There were three occupants in the MV, the driver noticed us as we were rolling by the MV slowly. The front passenger was hunched over and appeared to be holding something in his lap area, but concealing his activity with his body. There was also a young man walking away from the MV quickly, toward the dead end area of Knowlton St. At this point the driver said something, and the two passengers looked toward us with a shocked expression. The MV immediately began to drive away at a fairly high rate of speed, for the thickly settled residential area that we were located. The way the MV was blocking the street, and the activity of the occupants, and man walking away, led us to believe that the occupants were involved in, or had just completed a street level drug transaction.

As I turned the cruiser around, the MV had turned from Knowlton, onto Tufts St, and then turned left onto Washington, and was heading east. I was able to catch up to the MV, at the intersection of Washington and Inner Belt Road, while it was stopped at the red light. I activated the blue lights and siren, and pulled the MV over as it approached Crescent St.

As we observed the occupants inside of the MV, it appeared that the front passenger had handed something to rear passenger, and all three individuals were moving around, and appeared to very nervous. I approached the operator, and knocked on his window, because it was rolled up. He said to me as he was rolling down the window, “I don’t have a license, just so you know”. I asked him for his ID and the MV registration. He was identified as James Perry, with a Florida Identification card, but could not produce a MV registration. I was informed that it was his grandfathers MV. I queried Perry’s name and DOB, with the Massachusetts RMV, and it was discovered that his right to operate had been suspended. Officer Eli Kim, Officer Jason Costa, and Lt. Detective Hyde, all responded to assist.

When Perry was questioned as to why he was on Knowlton St, he said that he was dropping 80 dollars off to his friend Carlos. Perry stated he just got paid, and wanted to pay Carlos back the money owed to him. I asked Perry who the passengers were, and Perry said that he worked with them, and then said they were his friends. When I asked their names he said Diego, Franklyn, but didn’t know their last names, and then decided that he did not really know the man in the back seat. I asked Perry to exit the MV. Perry was then brought to the rear of the MV, and arrested for Operating After Suspension of his license. I asked Perry if he had any drugs, weapons, or sharp items on his person, and he said “I don’t have any drugs, and I use heroin as you probably know, but “I” don’t have any”, and emphasized the “I” in that last statement, leading me to believe that someone in the MV possessed heroin.

When we requested the names of the passengers, Diego, informed us he had no ID, and provided me with his SSN. When queried the SSN returned that Diego Mejia, had 2 active arrest warrants. He was removed from the MV, and placed into custody for the warrants. It was discovered after a brief search of his person, that Mejia did possess a Passport in his pocket, but failed to produce it when requested. Also there was a small metal spoon, broken off of the handle, inside Mejia’s pants pocket. This spoon appeared to have a white residue on it. Through my training and experience, I know that this item is commonly used to prepare certain drugs for injection with a hypodermic needle.

I then asked the front passenger to exit the MV, and for his identification. He exited the MV, told me that his name was Franquelin Isabel, and his DOB was . I asked him if he had any weapons, drugs, or sharp items on his person, and he said “no, but I had a needle in the front seat. Officer Chaille went to the front passenger compartment and retrieved a hypodermic needle, with cap still on.

Based upon the activity we observed, statements made, and items found thus far, we believed that there was illegal drugs inside the MV, or on the person of one of the passengers. A search of the MV was conducted. In the back seat area right behind the driver’s seat there was a box of Newport Cigarettes. The back seat on this side was pushed down, and had some clothes, tools, and other items all over it, and there was no person sitting in this specific area. I picked up the cigarette box, and opened it. Inside the box I located a clear plastic bag tied with a knot, containing a light brown powder, which based on my training and experience I believed to be heroin. There was an additional hypodermic needle found on the floor area of the rear passenger, where Mejia was sitting. A more thorough search of the occupants was conducted and no other contraband was located.

All three individuals were arrested and transported to the Somerville Police Station, via the mobile detention unit #200. They were booked by Lt. Michael Mulcahy.

Respectfully submitted,

Detective Michael Holland #270