A Massachusetts gang that officials say has fueled a decade of bloodshed is now accused of kidnapping a man while wearing law enforcement jackets.
Isiah Medina, also known as “Ice”, 25, and Rodderith Peralta, also known as “Mago”, 26, both of Lawrence, were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping. Both men are members of the Lawrence Chapter of the Trinitarios gang and are in custody on unrelated state charges.
At about 8:15 p.m. on May 5, 2024, a resident near 30 Shattuck Road in Andover heard someone yelling, “help.” As they looked outside, they saw a man being pushed into the back seat of a Jeep by two men wearing a dark colored jacket or shirt with the letters “DEA” on the back and a tan colored baseball hat.
But the two men weren’t law enforcement agents, officials said.
The Andover Police Department arrived and found a shoe, a sock and a key ring with a key and fob.
The man’s girlfriend began receiving calls by blocked phone numbers regarding the now missing man, court documents state.
At about midnight three days later, the man was found outside a CVS on Bridge Street in Lowell.
The man told police he had been kidnapped by men wearing law enforcement jackets and held in a basement for three days. He also asked police to call his mom.
But he didn’t want to officially report the kidnapping because he said “they” know where his mom lives and is not sure if “they” are still watching him, according to court documents.
At the hospital, the man who had been kidnapped told police he was originally approached by a “white old man with glasses,” who told him he was under arrest, court documents state. But when he saw five other masked people, he knew it was not actually officials arresting him.
He began to run.
Eventually, his kidnappers handcuffed and pepper sprayed him, court documents state.
Once on the highway, he was able to break out the rear window of the Jeep by kicking it and was able to briefly run away. He was recaptured and brought to unknown location in Lowell where he was held in a basement.
He was blindfolded and every time he tried to take it off, he’d get “smacked,” he told officials. The man was given food, Percocet and sandals. The men took his two phones and texted the man’s girlfriend to go to his apartment. The man who was kidnapped believes the other men were also planning to kidnap her.
“The males stated that no one was going to pay for him and was no longer of any use,” court documents state. “They ultimately decided to let him go. He was blindfolded and put into the back of a vehicle.”
His hands were zip-tied and the blindfold was removed and replaced with a jacket over his head. After being let go, officials said the man asked someone nearby to help cut off the zip-ties.
Investigators found photos of the kidnapped man on Medina and Peralta’s phones. One of the photos shows the man still handcuffed with a winter hat pulled down to cover his face, but not covering his mouth to allow him to smoke. Another photo shows a bottle believed to be urine near the man. Text conversations also show the two men talking about how the man kidnapped defecated on himself.
During one video, Peralta’s hand, identified by a tattoo, can be seen on the man’s face.
Later, officials learned the man who had been kidnapped was “a Trinitario associate and large-scale drug trafficker who makes a lot of money selling drugs, particularly selling drug in Maine,” court documents state.
The man was known to pay Trinitarios members for protection, court documents state. The Trinitarios gang also knew of the man’s drug distribution activities and believed him to be in possession of a large quantity of drugs or money in his residence, “which prompted the kidnapping and robbery.” Officials added that they believe the kidnappers were attempting to take his source of supply and his drug customers.
Court documents state that the man sold large quantities of drugs in Maine, and could make about $50,000 every two or three days.
Medina and Peralta are expected to appear in U.S. District Court next week.
The charge of conspiracy to commit a kidnapping provides for a maximum penalty of up to life in prison, and up to five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
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In February, officials announced charges against 24 members of the Massachusetts Trinitarios gang, including leadership, adding that it is a “significant blow” to the criminal enterprise.
Two dozen leaders, members and associates of the Trinitarios gang have been charged with federal offenses, including racketeering conspiracy, in connection with six murders and 11 attempted murders. Two individuals, who were 15 and 16 at the time of the criminal offenses, have been charged by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office with murder.
The Trinitarios started at Rikers Island in New York in the 1990s by people who were facing murder charges. It since spread to Massachusetts. In 2019, federal prosecutors also charged 32 people they accused of being members of a Lawrence-based branch of the gang.
