Suspect In Largest Cocaine Bust In Nantucket History Held On $75,000 Bail

The suspect in the largest cocaine bust in Nantucket history was arraigned in Nantucket Superior Court on Monday, weeks after being indicted on a drug trafficking charge by an island grand jury.

Francisco A. Fernandez Sanchez, 31, has been held behind bars without bail since his arrest in early February following a police raid of his apartment on Youngs Way, where detectives discovered more than five pounds of cocaine, worth more than $250,000. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years in state prison if convicted.

On Monday, the Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office argued that Fernandez remains a danger to the island community and should continue to be held without bail until the case is resolved. Fernandez’s attorney, Patrick Callahan, asked Judge Diane Freniere to set bail at $25,000, noting his client had no prior criminal record in the United States or in his home country of the Dominican Republic.

“He is dangerous,” Judge Freniere stated as she set bail at $75,000 cash. “He’s putting a large quantity of drugs out in the community… Bail is high, but it reflects both the volume and the state of the evidence. I suggest you start thinking about resolving this case sooner rather than later.”

Callahan acknowledged that Fernandez and his family would not be able to post the $75,000, at least not immediately, and he was transported by Nantucket County Sheriff Jim Perelman and his staff aboard the Steamship Authority ferry back to the Barnstable County Correctional Facility on Cape Cod.

Assistant District Attorney Dana Hatchell presented the case to Judge Freniere on Monday, describing a five-month investigation by the Nantucket Police Department’s detective division that involved a confidential informant who made four controlled buys of cocaine from Fernandez. Hatchell said authorities tracked Fernandez as he travelled to Martha’s Vineyard and then to Lawrence, Mass., where it is believed he picked up a kilo of cocaine to be distributed on Nantucket. She added that Fernandez was selling as much as 10 ounces of cocaine per week on Nantucket up until his arrest.

When officers descended on the home at 15 Youngs Way at approximately 2:19 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7th, to execute a search warrant, they discovered approximately 2,574 grams of a substance believed to be cocaine (5.67 pounds) inside the residence.

Callhan said his client was working on Nantucket as a property manager and was a veteran of the Dominican Republic’s Air Force.

“He’s here with legal status, a green card, to be here and work,” Callahan said. “And has a social security number. But his passport was seized by police.”

While acknowledging the seriousness of the offense allegedly committed by his client, as well as the mandatory minimum sentence he faces, Callahan emphasized Fernandez’s lack of a criminal record and that he had been cooperative with police. Numerous friends and family - both on-island and on the mainland - submitted letters to the court on Fernandez’s behalf, describing him as a person of high character who was working toward bettering his life.

As Callahan was making his case to Judge Freniere on whether Fernandez posed a danger to the community, she interrupted him at one point to say:

“Cocaine kills people.”