June 8, 2010

Men face drug, weapons charges
By Liz King



AMESBURY — Two men are being held at Middleton jail on $10,000 cash bail after a search of their disabled vehicle turned up a loaded weapon and drugs Sunday morning.

Amesbury police officers are working with the East Boston Gang Unit, as they believe the suspects are affiliated with the MS13 gang out of East Boston. United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement is also investigating the case, as the identities of the suspects could not be verified.

The driver of the car, identified as Ever Joel Tejada, 26, 73 Perkins St., Somerville, and his passenger, identified as Jesus Noe Benitez-Sola, 26, 150 Lexington St., East Boston, were both charged with carrying a firearm without a license and possession of ammunition without an FID card, both felonies, according to Lt. Kevin Ouellet.

While officer David Noyes was on patrol Sunday morning, he saw a gray Honda Civic with its doors open parked in the Sunoco parking lot on Route 110, which was closed at the time, Ouellet said. Noyes asked a woman in the passenger seat if everything was OK, and she told him that they had run out of gas.

Noyes also questioned a male subject in the backseat, and the driver, who was walking near the corner of Route 110 and the Sunoco, who also said they had run out of gas.

Ouellet said Noyes could smell the odor of freshly burnt marijuana in the vehicle, noticed drug paraphernalia on the floor,and called for backup. Sgts. Craig Bailey and Albert Chatigny responded to the scene, Ouellet said.

Noyes ran checks on all three and searched the vehicle, where he found more marijuana, as well as a loaded .38 Special revolver. None of the vehicle's occupants could provide a license to carry the firearm.

Ouellet said further investigation showed the female passenger had no knowledge of the firearm possession. The drugs resulted only in civil charges because of the amount, he said.

The men were placed under arrest and fingerprinted and run against the state and FBI databases, which showed that the prints didn't match the identifications provided.

"We were given false information in regard to their identity," Ouellet said.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is investigating the identities of the men. The passport of one of the men showed he was from El Salvador, Ouellet said.

The officers also found items within the vehicle that led police to believe they may be involved in gang activities, Ouellet said. The gun was last tracked to Haverhill, where Ouellet believes it was sold.

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