LITTLETON — What was supposed to be a routine traffic stop on Wednesday turned out to be the largest drug seizure in the history of the Littleton Police Department.
Police revealed two men were charged with trafficking cocaine after more than 40 pounds of the drug were discovered inside a vehicle that Patrolman Jared Richard pulled over for swerving on Great Road in the area of Beaver Brook Bridge.
“The attention to detail and dedication to duty that was shown by Patrolman Richard led to the largest drug seizure in the history of the Littleton Police Department, and I commend Patrolman Richard and all of the other officers who assisted on a job well done,” Police Chief Matthew Pinard said. “The seizure of such a large amount of drugs shows the scale of the drug trade and just how much we’re up against as we work to save people’s lives from the scourge of drug abuse.”
The driver of the vehicle, Erasmo Lira-Mendez, 38, and passenger Cornelio-Rene Hernandez, 51, were arraigned on Thursday in Ayer District Court by Judge Tejal Mehta on the charges of trafficking more than 200 grams of cocaine. Police said Lira-Mendez was additionally arraigned on charges of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and marked lanes violation.
Mehta set bail for both men at $1 million cash or $10 million bond. They are scheduled to return to court for pretrial conference on May 5.
Police said Richard was driving his cruiser behind the vehicle at approximately 3:30 p.m. when he spotted it “swerve several times” across the double yellow line. During the ensuing traffic stop, police said Richard learned Lira-Mendez did not have a driver’s license, while Hernandez was wanted on an arrest warrant from Texas.
With both men in custody, an inventory search of the vehicle was conducted, at which time police said the found 20 bags, each containing approximately 1 kilogram of cocaine. According to police, they also found $1,143 in Lira-Mendez’s possession.
Attorney Jennifer O’Brien, who is representing Hernandez, said on Friday that she intends to have the cocaine trafficking charge thrown out.
“(Hernandez) was the front seat passenger in the vehicle, and that’s basically where it ends,” O’Brien said. “He had no ties to the vehicle and there’s nothing that ties him to the bag in the backseat, so I’ll likely be moving to dismiss the charge based on a lack of probable cause.”
O’Brien said the criminal complaint states Hernandez’s home address is in Fort Worth, Texas.
Lira-Mendez’s attorney, Matthew Demaras, was not immediately available for comment.
Follow Aaron Curtis on Twitter @aselahcurtis
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