Massachusetts

Massachusetts defendant arrested by ICE reportedly had drug trafficking charges tossed due to Annie Dookhan lab scandal

Published

1 year ago

April 1, 2025

Massachusetts defendant arrested by ICE reportedly had drug trafficking charges tossed due to Annie Dookhan lab scandal

The Boston defendant who was arrested by ICE agents outside the courthouse during his trial last week reportedly had his past drug trafficking charges tossed due to the Annie Dookhan lab scandal.

Wilson Martell-LeBron was detained by ICE agents last Thursday outside the Boston Municipal Court Central Edward W. Brooke Courthouse — following the start of his trial for allegedly making a false statement on an RMV application and possession of a forged RMV document.

The feds claim that he’s an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic, who’s allegedly named Juan Carlos Baez. They arrested him mid-trial and brought him to a detention facility in Plymouth.

In the wake of that shocking mid-trial detainment, the BMC judge on Monday found an ICE agent in contempt after not showing up to court, and Martell-Lebron’s case was dismissed with prejudice “due to egregious and intentional prosecutorial misconduct” following ICE’s arrest.

Martell-Lebron years ago faced drug charges in both Middlesex and Essex counties, according to reports.

He was found guilty in Middlesex Superior Court on two counts of cocaine trafficking and one count of heroin trafficking in 2009, and he was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.

Meanwhile in Essex County, Martell-Lebron pleaded guilty to one count of cocaine trafficking and one count of heroin trafficking in 2009. That five-year sentence was to be served concurrently with the Middlesex sentence.

Then in 2017, those Essex County charges were vacated and dismissed with prejudice due to the Annie Dookhan drug lab scandal.

Between 2003 and 2011, chemist Annie Dookhan engaged in serious misconduct at a state drug lab that jeopardized the integrity of more than 20,000 cases in eastern Massachusetts.

Because of Dookhan’s misconduct at the Hinton State Laboratory in Jamaica Plain, the Supreme Judicial Court ordered the dismissal with prejudice of thousands of drug cases. Martell-Lebron’s charges in Essex County were among those tossed cases.

“The Court’s finding(s) or judgment(s) on charge(s) 1 COCAINE, TRAFFICKING IN c94C 32E(b), 2 HEROIN/MORPHINE/OPIUM, TRAFFICKING IN c94C 32E(c), 3 DRUG, POSSESS CLASS C c94C 34, 4 DRUG, POSSESS CLASS D c94C 34 is/are vacated and these charges are ordered DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE, per order of the Supreme Judicial Court (Gaziano, J.),” reads the court record.

Back to Monday, the Suffolk DA’s office said it was “dismayed and surprised when our prosecution of Wilson Martell-Lebron was interrupted by ICE apprehending him in the middle of our case.”

“As soon as we were made aware of the detention we contacted ICE and requested his return to court,” a spokesperson for the DA’s office said in a statement, adding, “Any claim that we were aware of an attempt to prevent Mr. Martell-Lebron from exercising his right to a trial is false… Federal authorities should not have detained him and interfered with our efforts to hold him accountable.”

Special Agent Brian Sullivan was found to be in contempt, but he was not held in contempt because he didn’t appear in court on Monday.

“He sought relief from the United States Attorney’s Office to prevent his appearance to answer for why he disappeared Wilson Martell-Lebron in the middle of his trial,” attorney Ryan Sullivan, who is on the defendant’s legal team, said in a statement.

“As for what we are calling on ICE to do, we are calling on them to respect the process of the law afforded to all individuals inside of the United States, regardless of their immigration status,” he added. “We are calling on them to not seek to uproot and ignore the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 12 of the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights to have a fair trial, or the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States constitution, guaranteeing due process. We can think of no greater failure of the rule of law than the government conspiring to kidnap a person in the middle of their trial seeking to demonstrate their innocence.”

Suffolk DA Kevin Hayden on Tuesday will hold a press conference on the ICE detention of Martell-Lebron.

This ICE arrest comes after Tufts graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk was grabbed off the street by ICE agents and shipped to a Louisiana facility. Ozturk, a PhD student and Fulbright Scholar from Turkey who was here on a student visa, was taken into custody by federal agents on the sidewalk outside her off-campus apartment in Somerville.

Ozturk in a past op-ed criticized the university’s administration after the Tufts Senate passed resolutions about the “Palestinian genocide” and divesting from companies with ties to Israel. The Department of Homeland Security said she was arrested because of her alleged “support of Hamas,” but has not provided further information.

Former state chemist Annie Dookhan. (Herald file photo)

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Massachusetts

The Massachusetts beach towns better than Cape Cod, per Condé Nast

Published

10 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

The Massachusetts beach towns better than Cape Cod, per Condé Nast

Massachusetts residents love their beach towns.

And Condé Nast Magazine loves two particular beach towns in the Bay State, but surprisingly didn’t pick a beach on Cape Cod.

That’s why the towns were included on the magazine’s 2025 list of the 17 best beach towns on the East Coast.

“Whether you’re looking to lay out on the sand in summer or prefer walking along the water spotting wildlife and collecting rocks, the shores of the East Coast have a little something for everyone,” Condé Nast stated on its website.

Here’s more about the magazine’s favorite beach towns in Massachusetts.

Oak Bluffs ranked No. 5 on the list

Coming in at number 5 is one of the most popular spots on Martha’s Vineyard – Oak Bluffs.

What they said: “The colorful gingerbread houses for which Oak Bluffs is known are straight out of a storybook. Visitors walk straight off their boats into Ocean Park, a circular green overlooking the sea, encircled by said houses, with a frothy, delicate gazebo sitting in the center. Oak Bluffs has a long history of welcoming Black visitors, and today it is home to the annual African-American Film Festival.”

Rockport ranked No. 4 on the list

Rockport is a town on the North Shore of the Bay State.

What they said: “The coastal region is known for its excellent seafood, beautiful beaches, and historic landmarks. Many a good film has been filmed here as well, such as Martin Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island’ and Kenneth Lonergan’s ‘Manchester-by-the-Sea.’

“Forty miles north of Boston, (Rockport) has a can’t-miss natural gem in Halibut Point State Park, from which visitors can spot Maine in the distance 80 miles away. Rockport is also beloved by art history buffs: it is home to Motif Number 1, a fishing shack with the superlative ‘the most-often painted building in America.’ It was built in 1840, and was a popular subject because it represented New England’s nautical character.”

What other regions of New England are on the list?

According to Condé Nast, they include:

Bar Harbor, Maine
Kennebunkport, Maine
Newport, Rhode Island
Hampton Beach, New Hampshire
Madison, Connecticut

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Massachusetts

Massachusetts town near Gillette Stadium presses for World Cup security funding

Published

22 hours ago

May 9, 2026

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Massachusetts town near Gillette Stadium presses for World Cup security funding

Up the road from Gillette Stadium, a town neighboring Foxboro is pressing for funding to meet public safety demands arising from the World Cup, with the first match just over a month away.

Walpole’s state delegation has written a letter to the state Office of Travel and Tourism requesting approval of the town’s request for nearly $200,000 to support “essential public safety personnel,” as officials expect “significant spillover impacts” from the premier soccer tournament.

As the Walpole/Foxboro town line on Route 1 is a handful of miles north of Gillette Stadium, officials are expecting increased traffic congestion and pedestrian activity to amount to “heightened public safety demands.”

“As outlined in the Town’s proposal,” the state delegation wrote in the letter it sent to the state last week, “Walpole will play a critical role in ensuring safe and efficient operations for both residents and visitors.”

“This funding will help close a critical gap and ensure that Walpole can safely support this internationally significant event,” the delegation added.

The state Office of Travel and Tourism confirmed to the Herald that it received the letter from state Reps. John H. Rogers, Paul McMurtry, Ted Philips and Marcus Vaughn and Sen. Mike Rush. The office said it will announce decisions in the coming weeks about round two of the $2 million grant program that supports municipal public safety needs tied to the World Cup.

The first round of the program, a $10 million competitive initiative, awarded funding earlier this year to 17 communities to support tournament-related events, including fan festivals, watch parties and regional activations.

This comes after the Foxboro Select Board battled the Boston Soccer 2026 nonprofit host committee and Kraft Sports & Entertainment, which operates Gillette Stadium, for months to ensure it received full funding to cover all security personnel and equipment.

In mid-March, the David vs. Goliath fight concluded, with Boston Soccer 2026 and the Krafts agreeing to cover Foxboro’s $7.8 million request.

Gillette, which will be rebranded as “Boston Stadium,” is set to host seven matches – five in the group stage and two knockout games – between June 13 and July 9. The World Cup is considered a SEAR 1 event, the highest risk level for public gatherings in the country.

“These matches will bring an excitement that this town has never seen,” Foxboro Police Chief Michael Grace said before the Select Board voted to grant an entertainment license for the matches to go on.

Gillette Stadium. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)

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Massachusetts

The best Massachusetts high schools for athletes? According to one study, here are top 25

Published

1 day ago

May 9, 2026

Press Room

The best Massachusetts high schools for athletes? According to one study, here are top 25

No other city in the country boasts more championships than Boston, giving Massachusetts a sporting pedigree unlike any other.

What’s unique about many of the state is that several of the stars from those championship-winning teams were Massachusetts natives.

Before they were winning the Stanley Cup, the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, World Series or a gold medal, those athletes were high school standouts.

Which high schools in Massachusetts are considered the best for athletes today?

According to a study conducted by Niche, which accounts for survey feedback from students and parents—accounting for “reviews of athletics, number of state championships, student participation in athletics, and the number of sports offered at the school”—and data from the U.S. Department of Education, these are the top 25.