Well-being check turns into drug, gun bust in West Springfield

WEST SPRINGFIELD ― A well-being check led to the arrest of two men and the seizure of crack cocaine, fentanyl and a loaded handgun, West Springfield police said in a statement on Friday.

Shawn Gregory Rainey, 48, of Victory, Vermont, and Pedro Jose Ledee, 51, of Hartford, Connecticut, were charged with trafficking large amounts of crack cocaine and fentanyl. They also face charges for having a gun and ammunition without a license and for not storing a firearm properly.

On Sept. 3 around 6:40 p.m., police officers went to a business parking lot at 1268 Riverdale St. after getting a report that two people were unconscious in a car, police said.

When officers arrived, they found a Ford Escape with Vermont plates parked in the lot. The engine was still running and inside were two people slumped over — but breathing, police said.

One officer reached through the open window, turned off the car and helped the driver sit up.

That's when the man woke up and started digging around in his lap and the driver's side area. He quickly became alert and was able to speak clearly with the officer. The passenger also was helped into an upright position and soon became responsive, too, police said.

The two men told officers they didn't need medical help — they were just tired from driving, they said.

But once they stepped out of the car, things changed. Officers spotted drug paraphernalia scattered around the inside of the vehicle: a copper scrubber, folded tin foil, butane torches and smoking pipes were all in plain view, police said.

Since the original call was for a well-being check and both men refused medical treatment, police said the situation shifted into a drug investigation. Detectives were called in to help.

By the end of it, both men were arrested without any trouble and taken to police headquarters to be booked on multiple charges, police said.

A loaded Luger 9mm semiautomatic handgun was found in the unlocked glove box. A total of 286.5 grams of crack cocaine, 59 grams of fentanyl and $1,875 in cash was seized as evidence.

Read the original article on MassLive .