Four Suspects Arrested Following FBI Raid Of Hooper Farm Road Home

An FBI Gang Task Force and the Nantucket Police Department executed a federal search warrant at a Hooper Farm Road residence early Thursday morning, resulting in the arrest of four individuals.

The apparent target of the federal arrest warrant, John Lee Angel, 31, was taken into custody without incident and transported to Boston. It is not yet clear what charges Angel is facing, but police said during a court hearing Thursday afternoon that the search warrant related to firearms and narcotics charges.

Three other individuals were arrested on drug trafficking charges by Nantucket police at the residence during the operation.

They were identified during their arraignments Thursday as Carlos Arnulfo Vasquez Hernandez, 31, Victor A. Ramirez Valdivieso, 32, and Maicol Jose Baires Soriano, 31, all of Nantucket. The three suspects were all charged with possessing ammunition without an FID card and trafficking cocaine in an amount between 18 and 36 grams.

The three men had not-guilty pleas entered on their behalf. During their arraignments Thursday afternoon in Nantucket District Court, bail was set at $7,500 cash, and the suspects were ordered to return to court December 16^th for a status hearing. They face a minimum of two years in jail time, which prompted the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office to request bail for each of them.

Lt. Angus MacVicar said the Nantucket Police Department had been working with the FBI Gang Task Force on the case for "a couple weeks" prior to Thursday's arrests. He could not recall another time the FBI Gang Task Force had conducted an operation on the island. The operation began around 6 a.m.

"In this case, they asked us for assistance with manpower, specifically with a perimiter and assistance with a search after arrest," MacVicar said. "We were also able to do that and subsequently we made those three arrests. Two of them are familiar to us - we knew the names. It's not uncommon if a state or federal agency comes here looking for someone in particular and requests our assistance, it's not unusual for us to make an arrest based on observations we make while we're there."

According to the police report, NPD detective Amanda Schwenk stated that 29.2 grams of a white powdery substance in a plastic bag believed to be cocaine was found inside the kitchen of the home. She said a floorboard was then lifted in the attic that opened up to the first-floor closet containing a stackable washer and dryer. On top of the appliances were four corner-cut baggies containing a white powdery substance believed to be cocaine that weighed a combined 5.8 grams – bringing the total amount of cocaine confiscated in the home to 35 grams.

Schwenk stated in the report that officers also found a box of 12-gauge shotgun ammunition, which was located in the attic, and that access to the attic is located in the living room.

Assistant District Attorney Rose El Khoury represented the prosecution during the bail hearing. She requested that bail be set at $30,000 for Hernandez and Soriano, that they be required to turn over all firearms and passports in their possession. She requested Ramirez Valdivieso's bail be set at $50,000, and that he be required to turn over all firearms and passports.

She said the bail request for Ramirez Valdivieso was higher because he has an existing warrant out of the Stoughton District Court, where he allegedly faces a 2016 charge of unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle but never appeared in court to face the charges.

“If the defendant didn’t show up for that, we have concerns about him showing up for charges where he faces at least two years (of jail time),” Khoury said.

The three defendants were represented by attorney Rob Moriarty, who requested they be released on personal recognizance and not have to hand over any firearms or passports because of a lack of evidence suggesting they were the owners of the ammunition and drugs, or that they intended on using the ammunition or selling the drugs, which were found in a common area of the home. Court records revealed that Hernandez and Soriano live at the Hooper Farm Road residence, while Ramirez Valdivieso was listed as living at a residence on Surfside Road.

When Nantucket District Court Judge James Sullivan asked the DA’s office and the court for the basis of the search warrant, they said they did not have that information. However, NPD detective Keith Mansfield told Sullivan the reason for that was because the FBI had a federal search warrant related to firearms and narcotics charges, and that the main target of the raid was taken by federal authorities back to Boston, where he will be arraigned separately. The details of those charges and the identity of this individual were not revealed during the Thursday court session.

“Early (Thursday) morning, the Nantucket Police Department, in association with an FBI Task Force, executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence,” Khoury elaborated. “During that search, a significant quantity of a substance believed to be cocaine and ammunition for a shotgun were found in community areas of the home.”

After both sides were heard, Sullivan said he had concerns about the defendants returning to court given the potential penalty they are facing on the charges but did not set bail at the amount requested by prosecutors. He set bail at $7,500 cash, while requiring the defendants to hand over any firearms in their possession but did not require them to turn in any passport.

Ramirez Valdivieso and Soriano were able to post $7,500 cash bail. Hernandez did not and he was taken to the Barnstable House of Corrections. Moriarty scheduled the status review hearing for December 16th so each defendant’s lawyer situation can be figured out.