Police: City man dealt fentanyl
WOONSOCKET –The deadly trail of fentanyl and heroin responsible for a spike in overdose fatalities in nearby Massachusetts on Wednesday led to a city man described as “a violent street criminal” with a lengthy history of run-ins with the law.
A multi-agency investigtive team arrested Joshua Rojas, 24, on 10 felony counts, including possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver; possession of a sawed-off shotgun; and possession of a firearm while delivering a controlled substance.
Rojas, who was free after an arrest for possession of a stolen motor vehicle last month, was also charged as a bail violator. Following an appearance in Sixth District Court, he was ordered held at the Adult Correctional Institutions pending a review hearing on July 27, the judiciary’s web site says.
Rojas’ arrest was announced by the Milford Police Department, which said it was the result of a joint investigation with the Woonsocket Police Department’s undercover Vice Unit, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Worcester High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force and the Massachusetts State Police Narcotics Section.
On Wednesday, the MFD said, investigators executed multiple search warrants that yielded, in addition to Rojas’ arrest, approximately 100 grams of fentanyl; 65 grams of crack cocaine; 22 tablets of Oxy- codone, a pharmaceutical opioid sold under the brand name Percocet; $1,600 in cash; and the sawed-off shotgun. The MFD did not release Rojas’ address, but he gave it as 78 Rathbun St. when he was arrested by the WPD last month.
The probe was “an effort to combat recent spikes in heroin/fentanyl related overdoses and overdose deaths in the Greater Milford area since March 2018,” Milford police said in a statement. “Based upon investigative information, officers identified Joshua Rojas... of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, as one of the sources for the drugs.”
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, many times more powerful than heroin, that health officials throughout the region say has been increasingly tied to fatal overdoses during the last several years. Often users ingest fentanyl unwittingly because dealers mix it with other drugs to boost their potency without telling their customers.
The probe involved “exhaus- tive surveillance and investigation targeting Rojas” over the course of several months, the police said, adding, “Rojas is well known to state and local law enforcement as a violent street criminal associated with multiple shootings, assaults and drug violations,” including his arrest here on June 2 for possession of a stolen motor vehicle.
Rojas has been charged with dozens of crimes since 2013, according to the Department of Corrections inmate database. The charges include multiple counts of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver; felony assault, obstructing police; possession of a stolen motor vehicle; assault on a public safety official; and others.
He’s been sentenced to jail to for various offenses in the past, including two months on assault and drug trafficking charges in 2017, according to the DOC.