Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Alleged ‘major player’ in Taunton drug ring held on $100,000 bail

By Gerry Tuoti
Posted Aug 24, 2010 @ 11:42 PM

A city man accused of being one of Taunton’s major drug dealers is being held in lieu of $100,000 cash bail after he was arrested in Connecticut as part of a two-month-long state police investigation.

Thomas Jeffreys, 31, who has addresses listed in both Taunton and Fall River, was arrested by Connecticut state police Monday and brought back to Massachusetts, where he is charged with 17 counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws. He was arraigned Tuesday in Taunton District Court.

“He was arrested at a hotel in Stonington, Conn., (Monday) morning after we contacted Connecticut state police about his known whereabouts,” said Gregg Miliote, a spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney’s office. “The arrest was made without incident.”

Teisha Johnson, 26, of Middleboro, who according to police reports is the mother of Jeffrey’s child, was also reportedly arrested in Connecticut in connection to the drug investigation.

There are no indications that they were trying to flee, Miliote said, adding that unconfirmed information suggested they were in Connecticut to visit Foxwoods casino.

Authorities say Jeffreys was one of the main targets of the drug investigation, which relied heavily on court-ordered wiretaps and involved 13 different law enforcement agencies.

The investigation culminated Monday morning with a flurry of 15 arrests in Taunton and Raynham.

In a court document explaining his reasons for setting bail, Judge David Turcotte referenced Jeffreys’ extensive criminal record and “history of drug distribution.” The document also said the defendant is accused of being a “major player” in Taunton and a “large-scale cocaine dealer.”

State police say they have 16 recorded phone calls dating back to July 12 in which Jeffreys can be heard arranging drug deals in and around Taunton.

Jeffreys is due back in court Sept. 28.

Two other men who were major targets of the wiretap investigation were arraigned Monday in Taunton District Court.

Jose Fernandes, 24, of Taunton, was charged with 14 counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws and was ordered held on $20 cash bail.

Brian Lacombe, 22, of 39 Orchard St., Taunton, was arraigned on eight counts of conspiracy to violate drug laws and was ordered held on $15,000 cash bail.

Both Fernandes and Lacombe are due back in court Sept. 13.



Contact Gerry Tuoti at gtuoti@tauntongazette.com.

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