A 38-year-old Brockton man who, while armed with a knife, robbed a hotel clerk in Raynham last year was sentenced last week to serve six to eight years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Joseph Pierce pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to a single indictment charging him with armed robbery. The defendant is also awaiting trial for similar robberies of hotels in Waltham and Boston and has a lengthy history of arrests and convictions for larcenies, firearm crimes and narcotics.

On Sunday, October 28, 2018, at 2:00am, Raynham Police were dispatched to the Courtyard Marriott Hotel at 37 Paramount Drive for a robbery. Upon arrival, police spoke with the female clerk, who was visibly upset and broke down crying multiple times. The victim stated she was in the back room getting a folder when a male walked into the back room. The victim told him that he couldn’t be back there. The male took out a knife and said “give me all your fucking money, I don’t want to have to hurt you, but if you don’t give me the money I’ll have to.” Both the defendant and the victim then walked out to the front desk. The suspect had the knife approximately two inches from the victim’s side.

The suspect took the money from the cash drawer and asked for other places where there was money. He told the victim to get where he could see her and said “no phones, no cops.” After getting the money, the suspect went to leave. But when he got to the door, the suspect turned around, came back to the desk and cut the phone cord with his knife. He stated “I know hotels have safes, show me where the safe is.” The victim stated she didn’t have access to the safe. The suspect then said “I’m going to have to hurt you if you don’t show me the safe.” The victim ran to the back room and shut the door behind her. The suspect then started pounding on the door and tried to open it. When the victim said she was going to call the police, the suspect fled from the hotel. The victim said the suspect fled in a dark colored four door sedan.

Hotel surveillance video showed the suspect entered the hotel at 1:58am wearing a black Red Sox hat with a white B, jeans and a black zip up track jacket with white piping around the zipper, white logo on the left chest and white under the arms. On surveillance, the suspect is seen holding a knife. The suspect fled the hotel at 2:00am.

Minutes before the robbery, the Walmart at 36 Paramount Drive, which is across Paramount Drive from the Marriott, contacted police to report a shoplifting by a white male wearing a white shirt and a black baseball hat with a white B on it. At 1:25am, a white male exited the store with two iRobot vacuum cleaners without paying for them. When he was confronted by store employees, the suspect went back into the store and the vacuums were recovered.

The suspect was observed on video getting into a black Hyundai Elantra with a Virginia license plate. After reviewing the surveillance videos, police believed it was the same suspect in both the Marriott and Walmart incidents. Police ran the registration and learned the vehicle was a rental from Avis/Budget Rental. The rental agreement listed a Brockton woman as the renter of the car. After looking at the woman’s Facebook account, police identified the defendant as the suspect from Walmart and Marriott.

The defendant was apprehended at the rear of a residence in Brockton as he attempted to flee out of the bulkhead. During a search, police seized $806 from the defendant, black and white Nike sneakers that the defendant was wearing during the arrest and a black and white zip up jacket (similar to the one in the Marriott and Walmart videos). The hotel clerk also identified the defendant in a photo array.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Carolyn Morrissette and the state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Sharon Donatelle.

“This is a career criminal who is a menace to society who clearly needs to be kept off the streets for as long as possible,” District Attorney Quinn said.

A Dominican national was sentenced Friday in federal court in Boston for illegally reentering the United States after being deported. He was convicted three times for drug offenses in Massachusetts to include fentanyl trafficking.

Jonathan Manuel Lara Troncoso, 33, a Dominican national residing in Lawrence, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to two years in prison. Lara Troncoso will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. In May 2019, he pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry of a deported alien.

Lara Troncoso was previously ordered deported from the United States in June 2006, but returned sometime thereafter and assumed the identity of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico. In an effort to avoid detection by law enforcement, Lara Troncoso mutilated his own fingerprints. While unlawfully in the country, he was convicted three times of drug offenses in Massachusetts while using a fraudulent identity, including a 2017 state conviction for fentanyl trafficking. By the time he was convicted of fentanyl trafficking, his fingerprints had regenerated and healed enough to match the fingerprints on file from his prior deportation.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Marcos D. Charles, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

A Southbridge man whose true identity is unknown was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston on August 13 on charges of making false statements in an application for a U.S. passport, aggravated identity theft and false statements in a health care matter. It is alleged that Doe has used and maintained the identity of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico for 36 years.

John Doe, whose true identity is unknown, was indicted on one count of making false statements in an application for a U.S. passport, one count of aggravated identity theft, and two counts of false statements in a health care matter. Doe was charged by complaint. An arraignment date has not yet been set.

According to the charging documents, in January 2018, Doe allegedly submitted an application for a United States passport by representing himself as a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico. He provided the U.S. citizen’s name, place of birth, and Social Security number. The Social Security number Doe provided did not, however, match the individual’s name he was representing as his own.

In support of his passport application, Doe allegedly provided a copy of a birth certificate issued to the victim whose identity he was representing as his own, an expired U.S. passport issued in 1988, an inmate’s identity card issued by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in the victim’s name, a Federal Probation Department urinalysis card in the victim’s name, and a letter from a U.S. Probation Officer Assistant indicating that Doe is currently on Federal Supervised Release.

The passport application and documents were sent to the Boston Passport Agency and subsequently referred to the Fraud Prevention Unit. It was then determined that the Social Security number submitted with the application was valid, but did not match the victim’s name Doe used in his application. On further review, it was determined that the Social Security number used on Doe’s previous passport application from 1988 was in fact a fraudulent number that had never been issued by the Social Security Administration.

Further investigation revealed that Doe, who is on lifetime parole, has four different names, four different dates of birth, and three different Social Security numbers associated with him. Doe has an extensive criminal record dating back to the 1970s. At one time, Doe owned an auto body shop in New York that was used to install electronic hidden compartments in cars to conceal money and cocaine trafficked from Colombia.

According to the indictment returned today, the government further alleges that Doe used this same identity on two MassHealth applications, one on June 10, 2015, and one on Oct. 31, 2018.

The passport fraud charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two year prison sentence to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed, and a fine of $250,000. The charge of false statement in a health care matter provides for sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and William B. Gannon, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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

This morning, just about 2 a.m., troopers from State Police–Tunnels arrested ADELMO RODRIGUEZ, 47, of Chelsea for several offenses, including: Operating under the Influence of Liquor; Attempted Murder; and Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, 2 counts.

Troopers, while on patrol on Porter Street in East Boston, observed a gray Toyota Corolla driving in reverse and crash into a light pole, causing the vehicle to become stuck on a utility box. As Troopers arrived, the driver was attempting to dislodge the vehicle by aggressively accelerating forward and backward and in the direction of the troopers. After several verbal commands were given, RODRIGUEZ exited his vehicle and was ordered to the ground and placed under arrest.

Preliminary investigation indicates a pedestrian had been struck and was located lying on the sidewalk. Boston EMS responded and transported the pedestrian to an area hospital for injuries. A second vehicle was also struck and located with heavy damage rendering it inoperable. The occupants of that vehicle were not injured.

RODRIQUEZ was transported to the Tunnels Barracks for booking and charged with the following offenses:

1.) Assault with a Dangerous Weapon;
2.) Reckless Operation of a Motor Vehicle;
3.) Operating Under the Influence of Liquor;
4.) Assault and Battery on a Police Officer, 2 counts;
5.) Leave the Scene of Personal Injury;
6.) Leave the Scene of Property Damage;
7.) Resist Arrest;
8.) Threat to Commit a Crime;
9.) Unlicensed Operation of a Motor Vehicle; and
10.) Marked Lanes Violation.

RODRIGUEZ is expected to be arraigned today in East Boston District Court. The crash remains under investigation by troopers assigned to Troop H. No further information is available. Please do not call the barracks direct for information.

A Lawrence resident was arrested last night and charged today in federal court in Boston with sexually exploiting a 4-year-old.

Jakob Nieves, who also goes by Dakota, 19, was charged with one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution of child pornography. Nieves appeared in federal court in Boston today and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019.

According to the charging document, as part of an investigation into the use of Kik messenger for the trade of child pornography, a federal agent, acting in an undercover capacity, allegedly communicated with Nieves via Kik. In the course of those communications, Nieves sent the undercover agent images and videos that she produced that depict her sexually abusing a child.

It is alleged that when law enforcement executed a search warrant at Nieves’ home on Aug. 14, 2019, she admitted to distributing images and videos of child pornography to a user she “met” in a Kik group geared toward individuals interested in pedophilia.

The charge of sexual exploitation of children provides for a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and no greater than 30 years in prison. The charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Each charge provides for a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Paruti, Lelling’s Project Safe Coordinator and member of the Major Crimes Unit, is prosecuting the case.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

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

Dartmouth police provided images are of the three (3) suspects wanted in connection with a hit and run crash that occurred at the King’s Inn during the early morning hours on Saturday, August 3, 2019.

If you have any information that can help us identify the suspects, you can either send us a private message or contact Detective Joe Catana at 508-910-1781.

If you would like to remain anonymous, you can submit a tip to us via our tip411 system. To access the system, simply type Dartmouth PD in either the Play Store (Android) or the App Store (iPhone), and then download the app. If you do not have a smartphone, you can access tip411 by visiting our website www.dartmouthpd.org.

Brian Jagielski, 53, of Tiverton, RI, is wanted in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island in connection to serious domestic violence cases.

The defendant, who has a lengthy history of domestic violence-related convictions, is under indictment in Bristol County for strangling his girlfriend on multiple occasions in New Bedford and for also taking her to the Freetown Forest against her will and threatening to bury her there. He is also accused of slapping her, smashing a vase and holding a piece of its broken glass up to her throat while threatening to kill her. The incidents are all alleged to have occurred in January.

At the time of his arrest by New Bedford Police, he was on probation in Rhode Island for a previous domestic violence conviction where he spent four years in prison. While the Bristol County case was still in the District Court, the defendant posted $27,500 cash bail and was then transported to Rhode Island for the alleged violation of his probation.

After a hearing in Rhode Island last month, he posted an additional $10,000 cash bail and was ordered to return to Massachusetts for his Superior Court arraignment on the new indictment charging him with assault and battery on a family or household member, assault with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and witness intimidation.

He was to be arraigned on July 16th in Fall River Superior Court, but did not appear. An arrest warrant issued on that same day.

A 61-year-old former Bridgewater man who fled the state 16 years ago was arrested recently in Seal Cove, Maine, and is being transported back to Massachusetts. The defendant will be arraigne​d in Taunton District Court tomorrow morning on new charges connected to two previously unsolved Bristol County rapes which occurred in the late 1990s, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

After an extensive investigation by prosecutors from this office and Massachusetts State Police detectives, Ivan Keith has been identified as the person who committed two previously unsolved rapes which occurred in Bristol County more than two decades ago. The first rape occurred on July 27, 1997 outside the Bristol-Plymouth Regional High School in Taunton. In that case, a 36-year-old woman was exercising on the track outside the school when a masked man jumped out in front of her, forcibly led her to a wooded area, tied her up and raped her. The second rape occurred on November 22, 1998 as a 47-year-old woman was working late cleaning offices at the Steve Porter Appraisal Services in Easton. While she was cleaning, a masked man entered the building and attacked her as she opened the door of an office to take out the trash. He then forcibly raped her before binding her hands and fleeing.

Investigators from this office began reviewing this “cold case” early this year and through their efforts were able to identify this defendant as the person responsible for these crimes. The defendant has also been linked to two other unsolved rape cases (one in Norfolk County and one in Plymouth County) both of which occurred in 1996.

Despite the fact that this defendant was convicted of several sex-related crimes in Plymouth County in the 1980s and 1990s, along with a sex crime conviction in Maine in 2000, the defendant failed to comply with sex offender registry and failed to provide a DNA sample to the state. On October 29, 2003, the defendant was set to appear in Brockton District Court for a jury trial on an Open and Gross Lewdness charge. The defendant intentionally defaulted and never appeared for that trial date.

In July, our office applied for and was granted arrest warrants for failure to register as a sex offender and making false statements. These new arrest warrants were then entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). With the assistance of the State Police Crime Lab, Investigators from the Massachusetts State Police, led by Sergeant Ann Marie Robertson, along with the Maine State Police, the Bar Harbor Police Department and the FBI were able to locate the defendant who was living under a new name in Seal Cove, Maine and took him into custody on August 2nd. The defendant has since waived rendition and will be arraigned tomorrow morning in Taunton District Court on the following charges:

– Five Count of Aggravated Rape
– Two counts of Kidnapping
– Two counts of Assault and Battery with a Dangerous Weapon
– Two Counts of Threats to Commit Bodily Harm
– Assault with a Dangerous Weapon
– Breaking and Entering into a Building in the Night with Intent to Commit a Felony
– Failure to Register as a Sex Offender
– Making False Statements
– Perjury

Tomorrow’s arraignment will be prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney William McCauley and Assistant District Attorney Caleb Weiner. Since the defendant has yet to be arraigned in open court on the charges, no further information or facts of the case can be released publicly at this time.

On Tuesday morning, August 13, detectives and patrol officers of the Wareham Police Department raided a home at 124 Highland Shores Drive after securing a search warrant for illegal drugs.

The raid comes after a joint investigation with multiple agencies. During the search detectives confiscated 175 grams of suspected cocaine, pills, and packaging materials for illegal drugs. Anthony Frates, 79, of 124 Highland Shores Drive, Wareham, is being charged by Wareham Police with trafficking in cocaine, 2 counts of possession with intent to distribute a Class “B” drug, and possession with intent to distribute a Class “C” drug.

Mr. Frates was arrested this morning by members of the Taunton Police Street Crimes Unit, in Taunton, after it was determined that he was traveling back and forth between the two communities frequently. A second location in Taunton was also raided this morning as part of this investigation. Assisting the Wareham and Taunton Police departments, were officers of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Massachusetts Parole, and the Massachusetts Department of Corrections K-9 Unit. Frates was actively on parole for drug charges that originated out of Taunton several years ago.

Acting Chief John Walcek said, “I am proud of the work completed by our detectives as well as the members of the Taunton police and assisting agencies, they did an outstanding job.”

On Sunday, August 11, at 6:21 p.m., Thomas Welch, 49, of Onset, was arrested by Officer Nate Aronson and Department of Natural Resources Officer Joshua Kimball on East Boulevard.

Wareham police officer Kimball observed Mr. Welch operating a scooter on a restricted area of the Onset Pier and directed him to stop. Mr. Welch refused but finally pulled over on East Boulevard, where he was arrested. He is charged with operating under the influence, 3rd offense, failure to stop for police, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, operating with a suspended driver’s license, trespassing with a motor vehicle, and operating after suspension for OUI, while operating under the influence.

Earlier on Sunday, another Onset man was arrested and charged with his 3rd OUI.