Current Court Report - October 10, 2024

This week is jury week in Nantucket District Court, and this court report includes arraignments and dispositions from the Wednesday and Thursday court sessions.

Gabriel J. Bouchard, 21, of Lakewood, Colorado, will have a July 13 charge of negligent operation of a motor vehicle continued without a finding for six months on the condition he complete his probation without a violation and pay $300 in court costs.

Charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, failure to stop for police, a motor vehicle lights violation, and resisting arrest stemming from the same incident were dismissed.

Angel Gabriel Deras Mejia, 30, of Nantucket, had July 21 charges of assault & battery on a family/household member and disorderly conduct, as well as an Aug. 24 charge of assault & battery on a family/household member dismissed. Mejia was taken into custody by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last month and is a 30-year-old Salvadoran who the federal agency alleged is a documented MS-13 gang member illegally present in the United States. You can read more about this story here.

Ryan C. Jepson, 41, of Nantucket was arraigned on Sept. 2 charges of assault & battery on a police officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. He had not-guilty pleas entered on his behalf and was ordered to return to court Nov. 5 for a pretrial hearing.

Rosalie Lopez, 29, of Nantucket will have July 23 charges of leaving the scene of property damage and operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol continued without a finding for one year on the condition she complete a driver alcohol education program, forfeit her license for 45 days, and pay $600 in court costs.

A charge of negligent operation of a motor vehicle stemming from the same incident was dismissed.

Ricardo Ernesto Pineda Hernandez, 26, of Nantucket will have July 29, 2023 charges of negligent operation of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest continued without a finding for one year on the condition he complete his probation without a violation.

Charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, possessing an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, and a motor vehicle equipment violation stemming from the same incident were dismissed.

Manuel Antonio Figueroa Vega, 30, of Nantucket had two July 25 charges of aggravated rape of a child (five year age difference) nolle prossed by the Cape & Island’s District Attorney’s Office after Vega was indicted and subsequently arraigned in Nantucket Superior Court. He is currently being held on $100,000 cash bail, $1 million surety.

Vega is alleged to have repeatedly sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl and is being charged for two incidents. The second incident led to the girl being taken to Nantucket Cottage Hospital to be evaluated. The next day, Vega left the island for Boston and eventually made his way to Georgia, where he was arrested by Georgia law enforcement and extradited back to Massachusetts and arraigned in Barnstable District Court. You can read the full story here.

Manuel Omar Portillo Rivera, 27, of Nantucket pleaded guilty to July 18, 2023 charges of disturbing the peace and trespassing. He was ordered to complete six months of probation.

Rivera had Aug. 28, 2023 charges of disorderly conduct and vandalizing a gravestone, as well as a Dec. 27, 2023 charge of trespassing dismissed as part of the plea deal.

Benjamin J. Reid, 32, of Nantucket will have Oct. 8, 2023 charges of assault & battery on a family/household member (two counts) continued without a finding for 18 months on the condition he completes the probation without a violation.

*All defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty under a court of law*