Police: Lowell man held against will at gunpoint

LOWELL » A man was allegedly kidnapped from his home and held at gunpoint inside an apartment in the Back Central neighborhood last week.

A Lowell Police report said witnesses claimed the incident was over a drug debt the alleged victim had failed to pay off.

The suspect, 30-year-old Robert Rosa, of Lowell, is currently in custody, awaiting a dangerousness hearing for the charges of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, breaking and entering a building at daytime for a felony, assault and battery, and unarmed robbery.

The incident isn’t Rosa’s first run-in with the law. He was also arrested more than four years ago following a fatal shooting in Centralville.

Police said the sordid situation that led to Rosa’s latest arrest was realized late Thursday morning when dispatch received a call from a person who said an unknown man was holding a gun to his friend’s head somewhere in the Back Central neighborhood. The person who made the 911 call was unsure of the exact location of his friend, a 45-yearold Lowell man, and the unknown perpetrator, but said it was somewhere near the intersection of Central and Whipple streets.

Police set up a perimeter around 822 Central St. as dispatch worked on getting a more specific location. As police waited for information, a man walked from the rear of the building, identifying himself as the victim. According to police, the 45-year-old claimed he had been in an upstairs apartment where an armed man, known to him as “Charlie” — later identified by police as Rosa — was holding him against his will.

Moments later, police said two people walked outside the building, including Rosa, who told officers, “I’m the guy you’re looking for.” Rosa was placed in handcuffs, and positively identified as the armed suspect by the 45-year-old man.

The alleged victim detailed for police the series of events that led to him being held at gunpoint. According to the man’s account, earlier in the day, Rosa had “dragged him against his will,” out of his home on Nesmith Street and into a motor vehicle. The 45-year-old said he was then driven to a grocery store, where he was made to purchase a prepaid debit card in the amount of $170. The alleged victim told police he was then taken to the Back Central apartment.

While there, the man claimed Rosa “began assaulting him by punching him in the head.” He alleged Rosa pulled out a gun, pointed it at him, and threatened to kill his family. A woman who was in the apartment with Rosa took the gun away. When Rosa and the woman began to talk, the alleged victim told police he was able to escape.

Another police report states the alleged victim’s girlfriend told officers the whole incident was supposedly over a $600 drug debt.

Police said they learned from the woman and another witness that an individual who goes by “Charlie” entered the home on Nesmith Street and spoke to the alleged victim regarding the cash owed for crack cocaine. Following a tense conversation inside the residence, the witnesses claimed “Charlie” made a motion suggesting he was armed with a firearm, while informing the alleged victim, “you’re coming with me (expletive).”

After they left, the girlfriend said she received a text from the alleged victim, saying he was being held hostage, and needed the police. She then called 911.

Rosa was arraigned on Friday by Judge Pacifico Decapua Jr. in Lowell District Court. He was held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing that is scheduled to take place on Tuesday. The hearing will be used to determine if Rosa poses a threat to the community and should remain in custody without bail as the case progresses in court.

Rosa’s attorney, Alexandra Brunelle, was not immediately available for comment.

On Feb. 6, 2020, the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office revealed Rosa, who was a resident of Nashua, N.H. at the time, had been charged with a series of crimes following the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Luis Dejesus, of Lowell. The shooting took place in the area of Jewett and West Fourth streets.

Rosa, who was 25 at the time, suffered two gunshot wounds to the leg during the gunfight between the pair, while Dejesus was shot in the chest.

Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Christopher Tarrant said during Rosa’s dangerousness hearing a couple weeks after the shooting that the two men had been arguing over a past drug deal. During the hearing, Rosa’s attorney, Keith Halpern, argued his client was acting in self-defense.

The outcome of the case was not immediately available, but court documents show Rosa was on parole at the time of Thursday’s alleged kidnapping.

Follow Aaron Curtis on X, formerly known as Twitter, @aselahcurtis