• Fifth Person Arrested By ICE On Nantucket An Alleged MS-13 Gang Member

    From a425couple@21:1/5 to All on Mon Sep 30 16:23:49 2024
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    from https://nantucketcurrent.com/crime/fifth-person-arrested-by-ice-identified-as-salvadoran-ms-13-gang-member-facing-assault-battery-charges

    Fifth Person Arrested By ICE On Nantucket An Alleged MS-13 Gang Member
    David Creed • Sep 26, 2024

    240925nantucket
    Photo released by ICE Boston ERO office
    A fifth individual who was taken into custody by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents earlier this month on Nantucket was
    identified Thursday morning as Felix Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia, a
    30-year-old Salvadoran who the federal agency alleged is a documented
    MS-13 gang member illegally present in the United States. Deras-Mejia is
    facing two previous charges of assault and battery and one charge of
    disorderly conduct in Nantucket District Court.

    “Angel Gabriel Deras-Mejia unlawfully entered the United States then
    made his way to Massachusetts, to apparently commit crimes of violence,” ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston Field Office
    Director Todd M. Lyons said in the announcement. “To make matters worse, Deras-Mejia is a documented member of a notorious transnational criminal organization and represents a significant threat to the residents of
    Nantucket. ERO Boston will continue to prioritize the safety of our
    public by aggressively apprehending and removing such threats from our
    New England communities.”

    Family members and friends of Deras-Mejia reached out to the Current on Thursday stating he was not a gang member, and had attended high school
    on the island. ICE spokesman James Covington did not return a message
    seeking comment.

    In its press release, ICE stated that Deras-Mejia unlawfully entered the
    United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location.

    Deras-Mejia has had a few run-ins with island law enforcement over the
    past four months.

    The first encounter was on May 29 when he was arrested by Nantucket
    Police and arraigned days later in Nantucket District Court on charges
    of assault on a family/household member and assault and battery on a family/household member.

    Deras-Mejia was released on personal recognizance with pretrial
    conditions established that he stay away and have no contact/not abuse
    the alleged victim. He was given a bail revocation warning that if he
    was charged with another offense while the case was open he could be
    held in jail for up to 90 days without bail.

    Those charges were eventually dismissed on September 9 – the day a bench trial was scheduled to take place – after the alleged victim in the case declined to cooperate with prosecutors. As a result, the case was
    closed, sealed, and, according to the court, that makes the police
    report for this case unavailable to the public.

    Deras-Mejia was arrested on Nantucket for a second time on July 21 and arraigned the next day on one charge of assault and battery on a family/household member and one charge of disorderly conduct. He was
    again released on personal recognizance despite the bail revocation
    warning he received six weeks prior on the then-open criminal case and
    was ordered to return to court on Sept. 3 for a pretrial hearing, which
    was later rescheduled to Oct. 9 by the court.

    According to the police report in this case, Nantucket Police officers responded to the Discovery Playground on Old South Road for a reported
    conflict that left children crying. Police officers stated that upon
    their arrival at the playg, they observed Deras-Mejia in a verbal
    altercation with a woman, and that Deras-Mejia was “drunk and was
    cursing, flaring his arms, yelling loudly, and distracting all civilians
    who were at the scene. He was acting this way right next to the
    reporting party’s residence and cars were coming to a slow as they were
    going by due to how loud the argument was.”

    Police said Deras-Mejia would not calm down and proceeded to continue
    screaming at other individuals at the playground urging them to not give officers their IDs.

    Police observed the woman who was in an argument with Deras-Mejia to
    have red marks on her neck area. She told police Deras-Mejia put his
    hands around her neck, and that the argument stemmed from Deras-Mejia
    and the woman arguing about who would take their children home.

    Deras-Mejia was arrested for a third time by Nantucket Police officers
    on Aug. 26 and subsequently arraigned in court on one count of assault
    and battery on a household member. He had not-guilty pleas entered on
    his behalf and despite the two previous bail revocation warnings given
    by the court in the previous Nantucket cases, Deras-Mejia was released
    on personal recognizance yet again while being ordered to return to
    court Oct. 9 for a pretrial hearing.

    According to the Aug. 26 police report, NPD responded to an Appleton
    Road property where the Nantucket Fire Department had already responded
    to for a medical call. Police were informed by NFD that a possible
    assault had taken place in which Deras-Mejia allegedly got into a verbal argument altercation with his brother over “finances” at the property.

    Eventually, the argument escalated to violence according to the police
    when Deras-Mejia punched his brother in the chest with a closed fist and knocked him to the ground. He then proceeded to kick his brother out of
    the house.

    Four other men were arrested during ICE's multi-day operation on
    Nantucket from Sept. 9th - 13th including Bryan Daniel Aldana-Arevalo,
    Gean Do Amaral Belafronte, Elmer Sola, and Felix Alberto Perez-Gomez.

    According to a press release issued by the Nantucket Police Department,
    "The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, not unlike many
    local, state, or federal agencies, requested our assistance with local knowledge of geographical areas of our town. The Nantucket Police
    Department, specifically the Detective Unit did assist with identifying requested addresses provided to them by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency."

    On Wednesday, Nantucket Select Board chair Brooke Mohr issued the
    following statement on the situation:


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