PAX Centurion - November / December 2015

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • November/December 2015 • Page 35 COMPSTAT Commendations Detective Kara Connolly, Human Trafficking Unit A long term investigation in conjunction with federal agencies began when a minor from a suburb of Boston was trafficked from Boston, raped and prostituted in Rhode Island. A Grand Jury investigation commenced and as a result three individuals were indicted and two arrestede. When Detective Connolly learned the person wanted on the outstanding sex trafficking warrant was shot, she contacted the Boston Police Homicide Unit and a separate trafficking investigation commenced. Eventually, over three dozen witnesses and victims were interviewed, and over a dozen appeared before the Federal Grand Jury. The case spanned thirteen states and several years. More than a dozen victims of sex trafficking testified. Many of the victims recounted horrific details of the abuse they endured. As a result of a two and half year investigation, which began with one underage victim and only the suspect’s nicknames, 16 victims were identified, a total of eight defendants were charged in a series of three superseding indictments in Federal Court in Boston for over 30 counts of Sex Trafficking by Force, Sex Trafficking of a Minor by Force, Conspiracy to Sex Traffic Minors, Transportation of a Minor for Sex, Conspiracy, Witness Tampering, Conspiracy to commit Murder, and Intimidation of aWitness byAttempting to Kill. H H H H H H H H H H H H H Detective Jesse Goff of the Sexual Assault Unit, along with two Suffolk County District Attorneys and aVictimAdvocate The crime lab obtained a DNA match to a 1996 rape case. The suspect was arrested in Sacramento for OUI related offenses in 2013, which resulted in the collection of a DNA sample. This sample was uploaded into CODIS, which resulted in a link to the Boston victim’s rape kit. The victim was 21 years old at the time of the rape and was at home in her apartment in Brighton. The suspect was arrested and brought to the Rancho Cordova station where he agreed to a taped interview. Detective Goff conducted a thorough nearly 3 hour interview of the defendant, building a rapport. He obtained mountains of biological and background information and brought to light the suspect’s time in Boston. This interview would prove crucial to the conviction of this suspect in this case. TheADAs did an exceptional job in preparing and prosecuting the case and handling the victim’s emotional needs and logistics. H H H H H H H H H H H H H Sergeant Samil Silta and Officers Israul Marrero, Lylana Jones- Henderson, Marie Miller, Jerome Smart, Agnaldo Monteiro, and Kenneth Grubbs of District B-2 These officers have attended and participated in an average of 200 community meetings per month this summer to help keep our residents informed and at ease while we worked with our community partners to aggressively quell the violence in the neighborhoods. They worked at the Teen PoliceAcademy in the hopes of offering an alternative to a gang life through positive mentorship, re-instituted the police explorers program, mentored 140 girls through the BNBL program and conducted movie night with senior citizens. The B-2 Ice Cream/Hot Dog Trailer pulls into a neighborhood, passes out Ice Cream and Hot Dogs and presents a PowerPoint CrimeWatch presentation specific to that geographical location, then follow up with another PowerPoint showing “resources” for seniors, adults and kids and job training. They deployed to 37 events this past summer, not including all of the National Night Out activities and distributed about 444 Gallons of ice cream, or 22,200 cups, 5,550 hot dogs, 2,300 bags of chips, and 100’s of cases of water. H H H H H H H H H H H H H Detective Todd Hartgrove, D-14 Detectives On September 28 th Area D-14 Officers received a radio broadcast for a person with a gun at 66 Union Street. Calls to 9-1-1 provided a description of a suspect, in possession of a handgun. Detective Hartgrove spotted the suspect near a playground. He observed the suspect holding a black handgun, pointing the weapon at two female victims and ordered him to drop the weapon. The suspect then ran around a motor vehicle to the driver’s side door and dove into the car reaching for something. A violent struggle ensued. Several officers arrived on scene and it took all of them to handcuff the suspect as he continued to fight and refuse orders to be cuffed. Once under control, officers found that the object retrieved from the motor vehicle was a black folding knife. The gun was later found to be a pellet gun, altered to look like a real handgun. Further investigation revealed that the suspect had approached the two female victims, threatened them with the firearm and made them get out of their cars. When searched at the booking desk the suspect was found to be in possession of several different pills and had an active warrant out of Dedham District Court for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs and violations of the auto laws. H H H H H H H H H H H H H Police Officers Darrell Vinson and Jeffrey Lynch of District D-4 On November 10 th Officer Vinson responded to a radio call for shots fired at Sussex andWarwick Streets. At Hammond and Sussex Street he observed a man clutching his waistband and as he approached, this suspect fled on foot. Officer Vinson pursued the suspect and broadcast his description. The suspect was then observed by Officer Lynch, in Ramsey Park. Officer Lynch stopped the male at 600 Shawmut Avenue. Responding Officers located a handgun underneath a bush between 601 and 609 Shawmut Avenue. Officer Vinson responded and positively identified Lupe Martinez as the person he observed on Hammond Street. Prior to logging the firearm into custody it was determined the firearm was hot by thermal imaging. The actions of the Officers resulted in the identification and arrest of a dangerous felon. As a result of their quick response, keen observations and due diligence a dangerous criminal armed with a firearm was taken off the streets, which likely prevented an act of violence in the community. H H H H H H H H H H H H H Police Officers Brandon Carey and Michael Butler of District C-11 On July 3 rd Officers Carey and Butler received a call that Dedham Police were requesting assistance with a vehicle wanted in connection with a robbery at a hotel in Dedham, where a firearm was displayed. Officers Carey and Butler observed the described vehicle parked in a driveway on Fuller Street. Moments later they observed the suspect vehicle backing out of the driveway and upon seeing the officer re-entered the house through a rear door. All three were located and secured. Officers arrested the two male suspects for the earlier armed robbery. Both men have violent records includingA&B with a dangerous weapon, A&B, possession of ammunition, possession of firearms, A&B on a public employee and drug charges. A Dedham Police search warrant was executed with the assistance of Boston Police, recovering two 9 mm weapons, ammunition and three plastic bags of pills. H H H H H H H H H H H H H Mark Bachta, Bureau of Intelligence andAnalysis At this year’s National Fusion Center Conference, Mark Bachta was honored with the 2015Award for Excellence in the Field of Analysis . This award is granted to the Analyst – amongst the 78 State and Major Urban Area Fusion Centers – who provided exceptional services to their fusion center. These particular services were recognized as enhancing the center’s analytical programs, and improved the security posture of the jurisdiction and/or the nation. There are roughly 2,000 analysts working within this network of 78 Fusion Centers. Mark’s character, leadership and work as an analyst and supervisor were recognized as the best in 2015. Receiving this award is an honor and achievement for Mark, but is also a significant recognition for the Boston Police Department and the Fusion Center. While Mark’s capabilities stand out through this award, it is also a reflection of the entire team of analysts, detectives, officers and supervisors that work together day and night, tirelessly, executing the mission of the BRIC and keeping our city, region and nation safe.