In a significant blow to local drug and firearm offenses, the City of New Bedford Police Department reported the arrest of a wanted male, resulting in the seizure of narcotics and an unlawful gun. According to a Facebook post from the department, detectives apprehended Jesse Soares, 41, outside his Bayberry Road residence last Saturday.
Law enforcement officials had been on the hunt for Soares due to seven active warrants for his arrest stemming from a previous vehicle chase where he evaded capture. Officers located Soares inside his vehicle and managed, to place him into custody. A subsequent search unveiled a plastic baggie of "crack" cocaine, digital scales, and rounds of 9mm ammunition on his person. An executed search at his address turned up an arsenal of drugs, including over 650 grams of cocaine and 88 grams of fentanyl, as well as a defaced Canik TP9SF handgun.
Soares faces a slew of charges in light of the discoveries made by detectives Jonathan Miranda and Jacob Rebello. With a criminal history that includes an armed robbery sentence of five years in state prison in 2003 and a 10-year sentence for another armed robbery, as well as possession of a sawed-off shotgun in 2011, Soares now confronts the Massachusetts law with a potential of a 12-year minimum mandatory sentence for the cocaine trafficking charge alone.
The cache recovered from Soares' possession also included two high-capacity magazines and more than 80 rounds of ammunition, as well as a total of $5,534 in cash, believed to be proceeds from his illegal drug activities. The New Bedford Police Department has invited, the general public to provide any information related to this case or other criminal activities by calling their anonymous tip line at 508-99-CRIME or by submitting tips online.
