Judge To Consider Suppressing Evidence In Foxborough Drug Case

BOSTON, MA — The circumstances that led to the search of a Foxborough apartment and fentanyl charges for a man living there will be reviewed by a federal judge later this month.

Judge Leo T. Sorokin will hold an evidentiary hearing on Sept. 20 at 9 a.m. with a focus on the events that led to the arrest of Stephan Pena. He was arrested last November and charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and possession of more than 40 grams of fentanyl.

Police arrived at the Lodge at Foxborough Apartments on Foxborough Boulevard around 2:20 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2017 for a report of a domestic disturbance. Pena told police that his cousin and his girlfriend were fighting and attempted to close the door to his apartment on the officers, according to a police report. When Officer James Cannata attempted to block the door and enter to check on the two who were arguing, Pena allegedly yelled "they are coming in" in Spanish. When police tried to arrest him, he allegedly assaulted them and tried to flee up the stairs.

Once Pena was placed in police custody, officers checked the second floor and found several 55-gallon drums, a baby highchair, diapers, a large pan on a stove top, and several bottles of bleach. Officers also discovered an open door to the patio and it appeared that whoever was on the second floor had fled. The other people inside the house were not located.

A search warrant was executed later that morning. A special DEA team allegedly recovered more than 1,000 grams of fentanyl.

Pena's attorney, Veronica White, wrote last month that the police's search of the home was warrantless, making it illegal. She has requested that the court suppress all evidence as a result of Pena's arrest and the search of his apartment.

Federal prosecutors, however, said in their response that checking on the condition of the woman inside was a reason for police into the home, noting that Pena told his cousin and girlfriend in Spanish that officers were going in.

The hearing will focus on the events that occurred from the moment police officers were dispatched to the defendant's apartment until the moment one officer used his foot to prevent the apartment door from closing, according to court records.

Pena is currently free on $25,000 cash bail, is on GPS monitoring, and is living with his mother in Connecticut.

Image via Foxborough Police Department