Leominster man arrested for fentanyl trafficking after alleged drug deal behind C&M Pizza

LEOMINSTER — On Wednesday, February 26, 2025, the North Worcester County Drug Task Force (NWCDTF) and Massachusetts State Police (MSP) received intelligence regarding an individual identified as Jonathan Fernandez Rivera.

(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Detective Jonathan Monahan and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)

“The information was received from two, independent, past reliable, confidential sources of information that Mr. Rivera was in possession of, and selling narcotics in the City of Leominster,” Det. Monahan said. “Both confidential sources’ independently corroborated Mr. Rivera being in possession of the narcotics, and both described the vehicle that he was operating.”

According to police, Jonathan Fernandez Rivera, 36, is a resident of 53 Eden Glen, Apt. 2, Leominster, MA.

“Mr. Rivera was said to be operating a blue Audi bearing Massachusetts license plate [number redacted],” Det. Monahan said. “Upon receiving this information, and simple records check through the Registry of Motor Vehicles, it was determined that Mr. Rivera’s mother, [name redacted], owns the vehicle Mr. Rivera was said to be operating. It was also determined that Mr. Rivera has a suspended license to operate a motor vehicle in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Based on the information provided, members of the NWCDTF and MSP sought to locate and surveil Mr. Rivera.”

At 2:30 p.m., Rivera was observed on Pleasant Street, operating his mother’s Audi.

“Mr. Rivera was observed pulling into TD Bank located downtown, exited the driver’s seat of the vehicle, and walked into the bank,” Det. Monahan said. “Mr. Rivera then exited the bank, got back into the driver’s seat of the motor vehicle, and was observed pulling onto Pleasant Street once again. Mr. Rivera then took a left turn onto Adams Street, eventually pulling into the back parking lot of C&M pizza located at 69 Central Street. Mr. Rivera parked the motor vehicle he was operating and remained within for several minutes.”

Detective Monahan, along with other members of the NWCDTF and MSP, conducted surveillance on Rivera and his vehicle parked behind C&M Pizza.

“I then observed a gray minivan pull into the same parking lot that Mr. Rivera was parked in, and the operator appeared to be looking for someone in the parking lot,” Det. Monahan said. “The operator of the minivan observed Mr. Rivera’s vehicle, stopped and parked in the travel lane behind Mr. Rivera’s parked motor vehicle.”

The driver of the minivan exited his vehicle, walked to the passenger side of Rivera’s car, and entered the passenger seat.

“That operator remained within Mr. Rivera’s vehicle for three minutes or less, exited, and began to walk back to his motor vehicle,” Det. Monahan said. “Based on my training and experience, and based on the information received from two independent confidential sources of information, I believed this to be the manner in which drug transactions are executed.”

Members of the NWCDTF and MSP approached the man prior to him getting back into his minivan, at which time, the male was observed with a clear, plastic baggie in his left hand, Det. Monahan said.

“Based on my training and experience this is the manner in which drugs are typically packaged, Det. Monahan said. “Once the male was approached, the item was retrieved, which was brownish, powdery, substance believed to be Fentanyl. Once that item was recovered, officers engaged Mr. Rivera who was still in the driver seat of his motor vehicle. Mr. Rivera was observed clutching a clear, plastic, glassine baggie in his left hand, and was ordered to exit his motor vehicle. Mr. Rivera was uncooperative and continued to clutch the plastic baggie in his left hand. Once Mr. Rivera exited the motor vehicle, he refused to open his hand and release the plastic baggie from his hand. Mr. Rivera eventually opened his hand, which contained a clear, plastic, baggie containing a brown, powdery substance believed to be Fentanyl and a white rocklike substance believed to be crack cocaine.”

Rivera was placed under arrest for the following charges:

1. Fentanyl, Trafficking in More Than 10 Grams
2. Possess to Distribute Class A Drug (Fentanyl)
3. Possess to Distribute Class B Drug (Crack Cocaine)
4. Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law
5. Operating Motor Vehicle with Suspended License

During a search incident to his arrest, police located a black satchel on the passenger seat of his vehicle.

“That satchel contained numerous clear, glassine baggies (25-178-PR) commonly used to package and distribute narcotics. Mr. Rivera was also in possession of $951.00 cash in United States currency,” Det. Monahan said. “The currency was mostly in the denomination of twenty dollar bills, which is what drug dealers will commonly have for denomination of currency due to the prices of narcotics and ease of making change based on the narcotic prices.”

The United States currency was seized as proceeds from drug transactions. The narcotics seized from Rivera included 19.48 grams of suspected Fentanyl and 3.77 grams of crack cocaine.

“Mr. Rivera’s motor vehicle was secured and remained in the parking lot of C&M Pizza. Mr. Rivera was transported to the Leominster Police Station for Booking by the OIC [Officer in Charge],” Det. Monahan said.  

Rivera’s bail was initially set at $5,000 following his arraignment in Leominster District Court on February 27, 2025. After his arraignment, he was held pending a dangerousness hearing.

On March 3, 2025, the court found Rivera dangerous but allowed his release under stricter bail conditions. His bail was increased to $10,000, with $5,000 already posted. As part of his release, he was ordered to stay away from and have no contact with the witness(es), possess no weapons, remain drug and alcohol-free, and submit to random drug screenings.

Rivera’s next court date is a pretrial conference scheduled for April 2, 2025.

Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story was from February, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to get the court documents for the incident. FOIAs are time consuming.

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