FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - An armed robbery suspect who was released from jail after a Fall River Superior Court Judge reduced his bail from $50,000 to $0 was arrested in Worcester earlier this month after a drug operation at the home he moved into uncovered heroin, Suboxone, and assorted pills, officials said.
Jose Tirado Sanchez, who was indicted by a Bristol County Grand Jury in February 2016 in connection with a violent armed robbery at Jarek’s Market in Fall River the month before, was initially ordered held on $50,000 cash bail due to the seriousness of the crime, his past criminal history, and his weak ties to Fall River, according to Bristol District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn’s Office.
But on October 27, 2017, Fall River Superior Court Judge Thomas McGuire released Sanchez, of Puerto Rico, by reducing his bail to personal recognizance on the condition that he submit to wearing a GPS monitoring device, according to a statement issued by Quinn’s Office Tuesday.
Then, earlier this month, Worcester police officers executing a search warrant at the home Sanchez moved into said they found him to be in possession of heroin and found three full strips of suboxone and a plastic sandwich baggie containing numerous blue pills. Two young children were also found inside the apartment.
During his arraignment on the latest charges in Worcester District Court, Sanchez’s bail on the open Fall River case was revoked.
In a statement, Quinn said, “This is another example of a defendant who should not have been released to the street by the court.”
“He attacked a clerk with a knife. His bail was reduced from $50,000 all the way down to personal recognizance. Even under the Supreme Judicial Court’s Brangan decision, high bail should have been set based on the seriousness of the charges and the defendant’s connections to Puerto Rico, including his pending charges there,” Quinn said. “It is not surprising to me that this defendant was re-arrested. His arrest goes to show that a GPS device is not a deterrent to committing new crimes or violating the conditions of release. It was an abuse of judicial discretion to release this dangerous defendant and highlights the urgent need for common sense bail reform in Massachusetts.”
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