Springfield man arraigned on cocaine trafficking charge
WESTFIELD — After an investigation by state and local law enforcement officers that included phone taps, a Springfield man and convicted felon was arraigned in district court Monday on cocaine trafficking, according to court records.
Javier Flores, 31, of Parkside Street, Springfield, was charged with trafficking more than 36 and less than 100 grams of cocaine and possession to distribute a Class A controlled substance, according to court records.
The charges were the result of an investigation by officers from the State Police, the Westfield Police Department, the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, and a State Police unit called CINRET, which specializes in physical and electronic surveillance, according to a statement of facts prepared by one of the State Police troopers involved in the investigation.
In applying for a warrant to search the apartment used by Flores, the officers monitored him over the course of several months.
"Over the course of this investigation, members of CINRET monitored the court authorized interceptions of [two telephones] … monitored court authorized electronic surveillance of 18 King St., monitored court authorized GPA tracking of target vehicle, and conducted surveillance of Flores," according to the statement of facts.
During the investigation, members of CINRET made observations of Flores "engaging in behavior consistent with narcotics distribution on a regular and ongoing basis both from his residence on the first floor [of the King Street apartment building] and by delivery of his narcotics customers while utilizing target vehicle," according to the statement of facts.
This also included intercepting phone calls between Flores and his customers.
On April 16, officers watching Flores were waiting when he returned to the King Street apartment and took him into custody without incident.
They then executed the search warrant. Once inside, Flores told the officers the cocaine was in a kitchen cabinet, according to the statement of facts.
There were several "white chunks" of cocaine found in the kitchen cabinet, according to the statement of facts.
A "white chunk" of cocaine in a plastic bag was also discovered in his vehicle.
The court records don't indicate where Flores was after being taken into custody on April 16.
During his arraignment Tuesday in district court, he pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail pending the outcome of a dangerousness hearing on Friday, July 25. The outcome was not available by press time.
He was also ordered to be taken to Hampden Superior Court for once again violating the terms of his probation, according to court records.
In June 2023, Flores was found in violation of probation that he was serving for several convictions in 2018 for an armed robbery and shooting in Springfield in 2015, according to court documents.
In June 2015, Flores was charged in Hampden Superior Court with armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and three weapons charges, according to masslive.com .
Those charges stemmed from him being accused of shooting a 27-year-old man in Springfield for what police called a "drug-related robbery." The victim survived the shooting.
There was a jury trial scheduled in February 2018 for Flores on the charges, but he pleaded guilty before the trial to armed and masked robbery, armed assault to rob, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm without a license, and carrying a loaded firearm without a license.
He was sentenced to not less than four years or more than six years in prison for three of the charges and five years of probation on two of them, according to court documents.
He was committed to Massachusetts Correctional Institution – Cedar Junction, formally known as MCI-Walpole.
It is not clear when he was released, but according to court records he violated his probation in July 2022.
That violation resulted in Flores' probation being extended to May 2027, according to court records.
Read the original article on MassLive .
