Police Arrest 4 on Weapons, Drug Charges

BROCKTON, MA - A two-month investigation by the Massachusetts State Police, Brockton Police Department, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration has resulted in four arrests.

In addition to the arrests, police seized three guns, ammunition, and drugs believed to be Fentanyl and cocaine.

The arrests came as police executed three search warrants simultaneously on apartments at 477, 559, and 567 Warren Ave. and a fourth warrant on a 2004 Jeep Cherokee that police had under surveillance on the street.

Those search warrants were obtained after one of the suspects arrested, Steve Depina, 28, of Brockton, allegedly sold heroin and fentanyl to an undercover Brockton detective on six separate occasions.

Depina was taken into custody after he was found in the Jeep Cherokee that Gang Unit troopers followed late yesterday afternoon. He was arrested in the driveway of his home at 477 Warren Ave. Police found about eight grams of a white powder believed to Fentanyl in the vehicle.

In the basement of the home, police discovered a Glock 23 40-caliber handgun with 12 40-caliber rounds in its high-capacity magazine, 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. Paperwork with Depina’s name was also found.

Depina was 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.

While executing a warrant at 567 Warren. Ave., Miguel Fidalgo, 32, of Brockton and Joshua Pires, 25, of Dorchester, were taken into custody.

During the search, police found a clear plastic bag containing seven small twisted baggies of a white substance believed to be cocaine on Fidalgo. 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.

After Pires gave police permission to search his Infiniti, which was parked in the building’s rear lot, police located a clear plastic bag containing five small twist baggies of cocaine. Pires was charged with possession of a Class B substance with intent to distribute.

A third search was executed at 599 Warren Ave. resulted in the arrest of Joao Pires-Depina. 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. He was 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.

Photo Credit: Massachusetts State Police