WEBSTER — At about 2:10 a.m. on Sunday, May 18, 2025, Webster Police Officer Alex Johnson was parked off North Main Street on proactive patrol when he noticed a Honda Accord with Massachusetts plates turn onto North Main from East Main Street.
(The account and quotations in this article were sourced from the printed Personnel Narrative of Officer Alex Johnson and do not reflect any political perspective or personal opinion of News Link Live, which is strictly a business entity.)
“The vehicle continued north on North Main Street before turning left onto Railroad Avenue,” Officer Johnson said. “Railroad Avenue is a dead-end street; however, it connects to Market Street and is oftentimes used to access Market Street. At this time of night, the vehicular traffic is lighter than normal and there were no other cars traveling on North Main Street at the time of this incident.”
Officer Johnson said that for the past several months, Webster police officers assigned to the overnight shift have been monitoring 32 Market Street for suspected drug activity.
“Officers have identified and observed numerous known individuals going to and from this address, at all hours of the day and night,” Officer Johnson said. “Several of these individuals have been identified as street-level drug dealers and several have been identified as known drug users. Officers have seen a large increase in both vehicular and foot traffic on Market Street, oftentimes with individuals going into and leaving this residence.”
Officer Johnson said that, after spotting the Honda Accord in the early hours of May 18, he left his stationary post and tailed the vehicle from a distance to monitor its operation.
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“The vehicle turned right down Market Street and subsequently pulled in front of 32 Market Street before coming to a stop,” Officer Johnson said. “I shut my cruiser’s head lights off and surveilled the vehicle in a hidden location on Railroad Avenue, which allowed me to keep eyes on the vehicle and the residence at all times.”
Officer Johnson said he subsequently notified the other officers of his observations of the vehicle.
“About 30 seconds after parking in front of 32 Market Street, I observed a party exit from this address and enter the backseat of the Honda Accord,” Officer Johnson recounted. “After approximately one-to-two minutes, the party exited the back seat and walked back into the residence. The Honda Accord then pulled away from 32 Market Street before turning right back onto North Main Street.”
Officer Johnson said he believed, based on nearly 10 years of training and experience as a police officer, that the behavior he just observed was indicative of a recently completed drug transaction.
“Due to the aforementioned information pertaining to this address, there is no good reason for someone to enter a vehicle from a known drug residence, and leave within one-to-two minutes before walking back inside,” Officer Johnson said.
Officer Johnson said the activity occurred around 2:15 a.m. and that confidential sources report drug dealers at the address typically “re‑up,” or resupply, in the late‑night to early‑morning hours.
“After watching the vehicle leave from 32 Market Street after a short, meaningless visit, I notified the other officers,” Officer Johnson said. “I then observed the vehicle turn right back onto North Main Street, towards East Main Street. As the vehicle drove by my location, I observed one of the rear license plate lights to be defective. At this point, based on the totality of the circumstances, I had reasonable suspicion to believe that the occupants in this vehicle were engaged in illicit drug activity. In addition to this, there was a number plate violation which prevented me from reading the license plate at 60 feet. After going by my location, I pulled back onto North Main Street and eventually activated my emergency overhead lights and conducted a motor vehicle stop on said vehicle.”
Shortly thereafter, Officers Shane Murray, Bryan Blomgren and Joseph Stephens arrived on scene to assist.
“I approached the passenger’s side of the vehicle and observed a female operator and a male passenger,” Officer Johnson said. “The female was identified as the registered owner, Selene Aquino Rocha, and the male passenger would later be identified as Omar Cruz. Upon Omar rolling his passenger window down, I observed him wearing a shoulder-style bag that was slung across his chest. Omar was not wearing a seat belt, and for these reasons, I asked him if he had any form of identification on him. Upon asking this question, Omar said, ‘Who me? Uhhh, I think so.’ After saying this, Omar proceeded to touch his shoulder bag from the outside, his pockets, and then reach around the passenger’s side compartment of the vehicle. At one point, while reaching with his right hand towards the inside compartment of the passenger door, I heard what sounded like something dropping. Additionally, Omar’s shoulder bag was open and I could see a plastic corner baggie sticking out which appeared to have some sort of white residue on it. Through my training and experience, I had probable cause to believe this bag contained illicit drugs.”
According to police, Omar Cruz, 23, is a resident of Goddard Street in Webster, MA.
“After observing what appeared to be illicit drugs inside Omar’s bag, along with him reaching down into the passenger’s side of the door, and the open container of alcohol in the center console (which is an arrestable town by-law in Webster), I requested he step out of the vehicle,” Officer Johnson said. “Upon asking Omar this, he said ‘Why do I have to come out?’”
Officer Johnson said that as Cruz started to remove the shoulder bag to hand it to Aquino Rocha, he instructed him not to do so because he believed the bag contained evidence of illicit drugs.
Cruz was then removed from the vehicle without incident and handcuffed.
Officer Johnson said that, when Officer Blomgren arrived, he asked him to remove Aquino Rocha from the vehicle to prevent her from accessing or destroying any potential evidence in Cruz’s bag.
“As Officer Blomgren was removing Selene from the driver’s side of the vehicle, I quickly glanced into Omar’s bag which was wide open,” Officer Johnson said. “Inside the bag, I observed a large, clear, plastic sandwich baggie with an off-white rock/chunky substance that I knew to be crack cocaine. Next to this bag was a black scale, a large bundle of cash in various denominations, and a second bundle of cash in $20 bills.”
Officer Johnson said the cash was folded in bundles which, based on his training and experience, signal record‑keeping for drug transactions. He then instructed Officer Blomgren to handcuff and detain Aquino Rocha. Officer Blomgren then read Aquino Rocha her Miranda warnings, and Officer Murray read Cruz his.
“After Omar and Selene were secured in cruisers, I proceeded to conduct a full search of Omar’s shoulder bag,” Officer Johnson said. “In addition to the large bag of crack cocaine, I located a tightly wrapped package of waxed ‘bundles.’ Bundles are a form of packaging that illicit drug dealers use to typically package heroin and fentanyl. Dealers will place small amounts of heroin/fentanyl (typically 0.2-0.4 of a gram) inside these wax bags and sell them on the street. I also located another medium-sized clear plastic baggie with 8-10 smaller corner baggies inside. The corner baggies contained an off-white/brownish powdery substance that I believed to be fentanyl. These corner baggies were packaged in a manner that is consistent with drug distribution. Inside the passenger’s side cup holder of the door, directly where Omar was sitting, I located another white rocky substance I believed to be crack cocaine.”
Officer Johnson said all the drugs and cash were seized and secured in his cruiser while he continued his roadside investigation.
After locating what Officer Johnson described as a “large quantity of drugs,” he advised Cruz that he was under arrest.
“After being advised of his Miranda warnings by Officer Murray, and agreeing to speak with officers, I asked Omar several questions pertaining to the investigation,” Officer Johnson said.
Officer Johnson said he first asked Omar whether the shoulder bag he was carrying was his, and Omar confirmed it was. Johnson then asked if the drugs found inside belonged to him or to Aquino Rocha; Omar replied that all the drugs were his and that he was “a user.”
“I proceeded to ask Omar why he was on Market Street and who he met up with over there,” Officer Johnson said. “Omar responded that he was seeing a ‘friend,’ but he did not know her name. When I asked Omar why the female got into the back of the vehicle he was in, Omar said that this unnamed friend gave him a ‘martini shot.’ Omar then said that he did not know the female, but he randomly contacted her asking her for alcohol. I asked Omar how he got the female’s number, to which he responded that someone gave it to him. It was obvious that Omar’s story was not making any sense and he was attempting to mask the real reason for the visit, which was to supply drugs to the dealer at 32 Market Street. Omar told me that Selene only provided him with a ride, however, the drugs in the bag were his (Omar would later recant this and tried to say the bag was not his).”
Officer Johnson said he and other officers thoroughly searched Aquino Rocha’s vehicle and found no additional contraband. He added that Trooper Ashley Goodspeed, a female Massachusetts State Trooper who arrived on scene, searched Selene and likewise found nothing.
“After confirming that Selene did wish to speak with officers, I asked her questions pertaining to the investigation,” Officer Johnson said. “I asked Selene how she knew Omar, to which she said she had just met him this evening. Selene stated that she picked Omar up at some random street and the two of them went to a bar in Southbridge. After leaving the bar, Omar asked Selene to drive to his residence. On the way to his residence, Selene stated Omar saw a girl ‘on the side of the street’ and she stopped so he could talk with her. When I further questioned Selene on this, she could not provide me with any sort of reason as to why she drove to Market Street, leading me to believe that Selene was not telling the truth. Selene was, however, adamant that she did not have any knowledge of the drugs that were found in Omar’s shoulder bag.”
Officer Johnson said Aquino Rocha was ultimately released and advised she would receive a summons by mail at a later date on a charge of conspiracy to violate a drug law.
Officer Johnson then transported Cruz to the Webster Police Department for booking.
Cruz’s bail was set at $15,000.
“The drugs and cash were transported to the Webster Police Department and I conducted an inventory of the drug’s weight and the amount of cash inside Omar’s shoulder bag,” Officer Johnson said.
Officer Johnson said he located the following in Cruz’s shoulder bag:
- Crack cocaine
- Large plastic bag: 30.7 grams
- Single rock: 1.5 grams
- Total: 32.2 grams
- Fentanyl
- “Brick” of wax bundles/packs: 16.8 grams
- Corner bag containing smaller knotted baggies: 5.6 grams
- Total: 22.4 grams
- Currency
- Various denominations of U.S. bills were found in the same bag as the drugs and a scale; however, the court documents News Link Live obtained through its FOIA request did not specify the total amount.
- Additional item
- Credit card bearing Omar Cruz’s name (also inside the shoulder bag)
Officer Johnson said the cash was seized as suspected drug proceeds pending asset‑forfeiture proceedings, and all drugs and money were separately packaged and submitted into evidence.
Cruz was charged with the following:
- Cocaine, Trafficking in 18 Grams or More, less than 36 Grams
- Fentanyl, Trafficking in More than 10 Grams
- Conspiracy to Violate Drug Law – “On May 19, 2025, Omar Cruz did, in fact, co-conspire to traffic and distribute illicit drugs with Selene Aquino Rocha,” Officer Johnson said. “Selene was driving Omar around while he possessed and distributed large quantities of drugs.”
Officer Johnson said that, given the circumstances of the incident, he was submitting a criminal complaint for Selene Aquino Rocha for the same charges.
After booking, Cruz remained in a Webster Police Station holding cell until his transfer to Dudley District Court for arraignment.
Cruz was arraigned in Dudley District Court on May 19, 2025. During his arraignment, the Commonwealth filed an order of pretrial detention based on dangerousness, which was granted by the judge.
A dangerousness hearing was then held on May 22, 2025, during which Judge Andrew Abdella found Cruz dangerous and ordered him held without bail.
Cruz’s next court date is a pretrial conference scheduled for June 20, 2025.
According to the Dudley District Court docket obtained by News Link Live, a status‑review hearing is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2025—the 90th day of Cruz’s bail revocation—to reassess whether he should remain held without bail.
Disclaimer: If you are wondering why the incident in this story took place in May, that’s because I had to file FOIA request(s) to obtain the court documents. FOIAs are time-consuming.
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