NEW BEDFORD – A former New Bedford detective’s “gross misconduct” in having a sexual relationship with an informant who was also sexually involved with two suspects has led to dismissals for four drug defendants.
Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III has announced that his office has agreed to the dismissal of indictments against four co-defendants who were charged with narcotics offenses resulting from a 2017 wiretap investigation, according to a press release.
It states that the dismissal of charges against Steven Ortiz, Tommy Ortiz, Jason Darosa and Katherine Espinal Parades was based upon the egregious police misconduct of former New Bedford Police Detective Jared Lucas, and the court’s discrediting of the same informant used by Detective Lucas in a prior narcotics case.
A former New Bedford detective’s “gross misconduct” in having a sexual relationship with an informant who was also sexually involved with two suspects has led to dismissals for four drug defendants.
The press release comes after an agreement made April 11 in Fall River Superior Court to dismiss indictments against Steven Ortiz on charges of two counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and conspiracy to traffic heroin, trafficking in heroin, and larceny by single scheme of amount greater than $250. The charges stemmed from his 2017 arrest.
Investigation tainted by former detective’s improper sexual relationship
That investigation was “tainted and irrevocably compromised by the gross misconduct of former New Bedford Detective Jared Lucas and his inappropriate sexual relationship with Carly Medeiros,” according to the prosecution’s statement in agreeing to the defense’s motion to dismiss.
Prosectors stated that their decision came after review of the court’s previous findings in the case vs. Miguel Martinez and the motion testimony of witnesses in the current narcotics cases.
The 2017 wiretap investigation was so tainted that dismissal was warranted, according to the press release.
The court previously concluded in the Martinez case that Lucas committed “gross misconduct” for having an on-again, off-again seven-year intimate sexual relationship with Medeiros, who was one of his informants.
That time frame established by the court covers the 2017 wiretap investigation and the four co-defendants, according to the press release.
Motion to dismiss claimed Medeiros planted drugs
That decision was made by Judge Renee Dupuis in May 2024. Dupuis also presided over the April 11 hearing.
Martinez was charged in 2019 with trafficking in fentanyl, trafficking in cocaine, and unlawful possession of suboxone with intent to distribute.
A motion to dismiss claimed that Carly Medeiros had planted drugs on Martinez at the behest of Detective Kevin Barbosa and Lucas in order to assist Medeiros end her romantic relationship with Martinez.
Lucas had introduced Medeiros to Barbosa as a reliable confidential informant, according to the court.
Medeiros was used to make two controlled buys from the defendant, according to the court. Search warrants were issued based on the buys and Martinez was arrested.
Dupuis stated she found Barbosa to be a credible witness during the hearing on the motion to dismiss.
Barbosa testified that the buys were properly conducted, and that he had no knowledge that Lucas and Medeiros had a sexual relationship. He testified he would not have used her in the investigation had he known.
Medeiros not found to be a credible witness
Dupuis also stated she did not find Medeiros to be a credible witness, though she did believe that she had a sexual relationship with Lucas. But, she stated, that was based on tangible evidence through text messages provided to the court.
She did not believe Medeiros’ testimony that Barbosa knew of her relationship with Lucas, or that he gave her drugs to plant on Martinez.
Lucas, who retired from the New Bedford Police in 2021, did not testify in that hearing.
In 2022 Medeiros identified herself as being involved in two New Bedford Police investigations, including the Ortiz case, to a Boston newspaper, according to Dupuis’ ruling. After determining the newspaper’s interest, she began compiling information regarding her relationship with Lucas and provided it to the newspaper and Steven Ortiz’s defense.
Testimony ‘replete with inconsistencies and falsehoods’
Dupuis stated Medeiros’ testimony in the Martinez hearing was “replete with inconsistencies and falsehoods.”
Dupuis stated, “On the one hand, she portrays herself as a vulnerable young woman struggling with heroin addiction who was manipulated by Mr. Lucas to give information about Mr. Ortiz. On the other hand, she brags boastfully about how she had Mr. Lucas ‘wrapped around her little finger,’ able to command him to perform any act she desired by virtue of his hopeless infatuation with her.
“She acknowledged using Mr. Lucas to keep tabs on Mr. Ortiz and also claims to have used Mr. Lucas to get herself out of trouble with the department.
“On the whole, the evidence indicates that Ms. Medeiros and Mr. Lucas engaged in mutual use of one another in order to achieve their goals.”
Aware of potential impact on other drug cases
Dupuis also stated, “She bluntly, with a touch of braggadocio, admitted to an encounter with two New Bedford police detectives in January of 2023, wherein she chastised them by saying, ‘You guys are (expletive). Do you know who I am?’ She warned them that a news article was going to soon be published about the gang unit that would ruin several detectives’ careers. She bragged, ‘I already took one of you guys down,’ apparently in reference to Mr. Lucas’ early retirement.”
Dupuis added in her May 2024 decision in the Martinez case, “She is aware of the potential impact of her personal relationship with Mr. Lucas in pending criminal cases. She appears to relish causing the most damage, frequently shading the facts in her efforts to do so.”
However, Dupuis found that the search warrant in the Martinez case didn’t establish probable cause because it didn’t acknowledge Lucas’ relationship with Medeiros or her relationship with Martinez, and the evidence was suppressed.
All cases involving Medeiros were ordered to be reviewed
Dupuis also ordered the District Attorney’s Office to provide her with all cases, police reports and search warrants in which Medeiros served as informant for her review in camera within 30 days of her 2024 decision.
Lucas invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege and chose not to testify in the current Ortiz motion hearing, according to the press release.
The release stated that witness testimony in the current cases also established that the search warrants could not stand on their own if Medeiros’s information was excluded from them.
Undermines the public’s confidence in law enforcement
“I am very angry and disturbed that the charges in these cases had to be dismissed because of the egregious police misconduct of former Officer Jared Lucas, which involved his undisclosed sexual relationship with an informant. Significant efforts and resources were put into this investigation that involved the Ortiz brothers who had significant criminal records that include drug dealing. The conduct of Lucas clearly compromised the integrity of the investigation which continues to undermine the public’s confidence in law enforcement despite the good work done by most officers in a very difficult job,” Quinn stated.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: More fallout from New Bedford detective’s ‘gross misconduct’