Cocaine and heroin distribution ring

I haven’t blogged or Tweeted much tonight because I started my day faced with the need to read a 97-page long affidavit emailed to me by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

And that was before I started writing my story.

A man who spent about 5 days a week living at 5 Riverhurst Road, Unit 720, in Billerica, is named in the affidavit as one of the ringleaders of a cocaine and heroin distribution ring that spread dozens of kilos of cocaine around Eastern Massachusetts after getting it from a Providence, R.I. man who’s sources are in Mexico.

Another man, Freddie Morales-Lugo, who I blogged about back in December, is also among the 20 men charged with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine in U.S. District Court in Boston.

I don’t have a lot of details on all this, though my story is very long.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DEA have not yet officially announced the arrests, so no one is willing to comment quite yet. Sending me the redacted affidavit is the only thing the U.S. Attorney’s Office would do since the affidavit is the only document that has been unsealed in the case so far.

Home invasion, shooting, in Billerica

UPDATE: The DA’s office just confirmed Quentin Koehler, 22, of Billerica, died of a gunshot wound to the head as a result of this home invasion. Click this link for a copy of the press release.

Sorry it took me 15 minutes to update here, but I had to update my print edition story first since I’m literally 10 minutes from deadline.

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I got an email from the DA’s office this morning informing me that a 22-year-old man was in critical condition after being shot during a home invasion in Billerica this morning.

I called into the office to make sure folks were aware, and they were right on top of things.

Below is the picture Jen Myers had already taken of the home 795 Boston Road where the home invasion and shooting occurred.

Here is a link to the story Jen and one of my managing editors, Tom Zuppa, had already put together.

The DA’s office is handling the press on this case, and they haven’t released much else except to say this does not appear to be a random attack, and that the victim was taken to Lahey Clinic.

Here is the interesting thing Tom and Jen dug up. They report:

Gunshot fired in Billerica

Billerica Police got a 911 call reporting that someone fired a single gunshot outside of the new Cumberland Farms store at Boston Road and Phiney Street this afternoon at 4:30 p.m.

Seven minutes later, officers had two men in custody, handcuffed and facedown on the ground near 25 Bridge Street.

Here is a picture of a police cruiser hauling one of those men back to the Billerica Police station. I missed getting a photo of the suspects by about 2 minutes, and my lens cap on my camera didn’t open all the way as I hurried to snap this shot.

I’m still waiting for a press release or a chance to talk to Detective Lt. Roy Frost to confirm exactly what happened, but based on police radio broadcasts I believe a single gunshot was fired, and that at least one person was injured during a scuffle with the men who were responsible for the gunshot.

Rollover in Billerica

If you don’t already follow the Billerica Police feed on Twitter, you probably should.

They tweeted about a rollover on Rangeway Road in their town that occurred today about 4:45 p.m., and even included this picture. I couldn’t ask for much more from an accident photo.

Police report via their Twitter feed, linked above, that there were only minor injuries suffered in connection with this crash. One person was taken to a local hospital.

Felony assault with a bottle

It looks like Lowell doesn’t have an exclusive on weekend violence outside of bars.

A 29-year-old Billerica man, Michael Murray, whose mugshot is at right, is facing felony assault charges because police say he bottled a guy outside a bar on Main Street early Sunday morning.

Nashua Police say they were called to the Peddler’s Daughter, 48 Main Street, in Nashua, Sunday at 1:06 a.m., for a report of an assault.

Officers investigated and determined Murray, who lives at 342 Treble Cove Road, got into a fight with another patron of the bar and struck that man in the head with a bottle, causing a laceration.

Murray was charged with second degree assault, a felony that comes with a sentence of up to 7 years upon conviction.

Murray was held Sunday on $5,000 cash or surety bail. He was arraigned today in Nashua District Court, but the results of that proceeding aren’t available to me tonight since I didn’t hear about this until after the court had closed for the day.