Waltham man pleads not guilty to narcotics charges

Tyrone Iluminado Martinez, 33, of Waltham, pleaded not guilty on April 10 to charges of possession to distribute a class B drug, trafficking cocaine in an amount of over 200 grams and conspiracy to violate drug law.

Martinez’s arrest was the product of an investigation by the Suburban Middlesex County Drug Task Force who were investigating narcotics distribution in Waltham. Based on this investigation, police were able to obtain search warrants for Martinez’s last known address, Martinez’s car and Martinez himself. 

On April 9, Waltham police in collaboration with the drug task force convened near Martinez’s last known address. According to the police report, the team arrested Martinez around 12:32 p.m. in the Waltham Public Library parking lot and executed the three search warrants. Police located three bags containing white powder suspected to be cocaine, a Motorola Razr cellphone and $451 in cash in Martinez’s car. An iPhone that fell out of Martinez’s pocket during the arrest was seized as well. According to the police report, Martinez stated that the suspected cocaine was for his personal use.

During the search of Martinez’s last known address, police say they seized various drug paraphernalia including a digital scale, a large amount of cash and two bricks that were confirmed to be cocaine via a Tru-Narc Spectrometer test. 

The bedroom and the living room of the apartment contained paperwork and identification not only for Martinez but for Michael Owens, 34, of Waltham, who was renting the apartment. Police have issued a warrant for Owens’ arrest for trafficking cocaine in an amount of over 200 grams and conspiracy to violate drug law. There is no record of filed charges against Owens on the Mass Courts website.

Martinez pleaded not guilty to all charges on April 10. Judge Ellen M. Caulo ordered that Martinez be held at Middlesex Jail without bail while awaiting trial on the basis of dangerousness as requested in a motion filed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. A probable cause hearing for Martinez’s case will be held on May 14.

Additional court activity

Jieming Chu, 36, of Waltham, pleaded not guilty on April 13 to a charge of assault and battery on a family or household member. Caulo released him on personal recognizance. A pretrial hearing for Chu is set for June 1.

Luiz A. Rodrigues de Almeida, 37, of Waltham, pleaded not guilty to a charge of failing to stop or yield and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license subsequent offense. Caulo released Rodrigues de Almeida on personal recognizance and a pretrial hearing for the case is set for May 26.

All information for this story was gathered from court proceedings and official court documents at Waltham District Court and case information from masscourts.org.