Bristol County District Attorney Angry, Disturbed, After Having to Dismiss Drug Case Against Four Co-Defendants Due to Egregious Police Misconduct

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M Quinn III has declared the dismissal of indictments against four individuals charged with drug-related offenses stemming from a wiretap review The decision comes in response to serious misconduct by a former New Bedford police detective and concerns about the credibility of a key informant Charges have been dropped against Steven Ortiz Tommy Ortiz Jason Darosa and Katherine Espinal Parades The dismissal was approved by the court following a motion filed by the DA s office which acknowledged that the assessment had been severely tainted by unethical behavior Source WPRI com Tainted Research Linked to Officer s Secret Relationship At the center of the argument is former New Bedford Detective Jared Lucas who was previously revealed to have engaged in a seven-year on-and-off sexual relationship with a confidential informant Carly Medeiros This relationship which spanned the time of the assessment was never disclosed in the warrant applications used to justify the wiretap and subsequent charges In a previous circumstance Commonwealth v Miguel Martinez a judge determined that Lucas committed gross misconduct by using Medeiros as an informant without disclosing their intimate connection The court also ruled that Medeiros was unreliable with testimony marked by inconsistencies falsehoods and personal motives to manipulate investigations These findings became a crucial reference point for the DA s office in deciding to move for dismissal in the current cases The court agreed stating that the dismissals were the appropriate aftermath under the circumstances Informant Deemed Unreliable in Both Cases In the Martinez occurrence the court located Medeiros s testimony to be deceptive and self-serving The judge noted she had multiple reasons to lie and seemed to enjoy causing the most of damage Despite testimony from other detectives who denied knowledge of the relationship the court ruled that Lucas s failure to disclose it and Medeiros s lack of credibility invalidated the probable cause used to obtain warrants During hearings in December related to the wiretap inquiry similar evidence was presented Onlookers testified that Medeiros s tips were central to the warrants and without them the warrants would not stand Lucas who is now retired invoked his Fifth Amendment right and declined to testify during the hearing DA Quinn Condemns Misconduct Calls for Accountability District Attorney Quinn expressed deep frustration with the outcome stating that serious efforts and support were invested into the inquiry particularly in tracking the Ortiz brothers who had lengthy criminal records involving drug trafficking I am very angry and disturbed that the charges had to be dismissed because of the egregious police misconduct of former Officer Jared Lucas Quinn disclosed His undisclosed sexual relationship with an informant compromised the integrity of the entire examination This kind of behavior erodes populace trust in law enforcement even as greater part officers continue to do good work under challenging circumstances