Three New Bedford men charged in drug-related Maine shooting, authorities say – The Boston Globe

Three New Bedford men have been arrested in connection to a drug-related drive-by shooting in Saco, Maine, in February that led to an hours-long lockdown of the downtown and area schools, Maine law enforcement officials said Thursday.

Joshua “Mac” Estrada, 19, Yancarlos “Glizzy” Abrante, 20, and Jason “Ouda” Johnson-Rivera, 18, are each charged with conspiracy to distribute and posses with intent to distribute cocaine and perpetrating a drive-by shooting, according to a statement issued by the US Attorney for the District of Maine.

According to a federal indictment handed up Wednesday, the three men allegedly had been trafficking cocaine in and around Saco and Biddeford since at least January 2024, the statement said.

During a drug dispute on Feb. 9, they fired at least five rounds from a 9 mm handgun into another vehicle, according to Darcie N. McElwee, Maine’s US attorney.

“This joint federal and local investigation reflects that if you come to Maine and engage in violence, particularly firearm violence, there will be a swift and coordinated response from every level of law enforcement,” McElwee’s statement said.

The daytime shooting, just before noon in the intersection of North and Elm streets, prompted authorities to issue a shelter-in-place warning and order at least six schools to go on lockdown.

Police said gunshots were exchanged between a red Dodge Charger and a gray Honda HRV before they collided at the intersection. A school bus was involved in the crash but no students were injured.

Four people ran from the scene causing an extensive search by law enforcement, police said. One of the people appeared to have been shot in the arm.

“Brazen violent crime of this magnitude is not something the City of Saco is accustomed to, but when it happens, Maine law enforcement responds,” Chief Jack Clements, of the Saco Police Department, said in the statement.

In the immediate aftermath of the “brazen” shooting and during the “ensuing chaos,” FBI agents with the Southern Maine Gang Task Force hit the ground running, Jodi Cohen, the FBI’s special agent in charge of the Boston division (which includes all of Maine), said in the statement.

“We believe the three Massachusetts men we have in custody conspired with each other to traffic cocaine and were the instigators of this drive-by shooting,” Cohen said. “Violent drug traffickers have a corrosive effect on our communities, and we want everyone to know that the FBI is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to help make Maine safer for the folks who live, work, and visit here.”

Before the indictment, Estrada was arrested May 6 in New Bedford via a criminal complaint. He was arraigned Thursday in federal court in Maine, McElwee said.

Abrante and Johnson-Rivera currently are in custody in Massachusetts on unrelated charges, McElwee said. They will be brought to Maine next week to be arraigned on the new charges, McElwee said.

If convicted as charged, each of the men faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on the drug charge and up to 25 years imprisonment on the shooting charge, McElwee said.

McElwee announced the arrests Thursday at a press briefing outside the Edward T. Gignoux US Courthouse in Portland. She was joined by Clements, fellow prosecutors, FBI and ATF agents, and acting US Marshal Kevin Neal.

Tonya Alanez can be reached at tonya.alanez@globe.com. Follow her @talanez.