BROCKTON, Mass. — A Brockton man is being held without bail and facing 26 criminal charges, including machine gun possession, after prosecutors allege he was running a criminal enterprise from his local business.
Felipe Jonet-Branco, 31, was arraigned in Brockton District Court on Thursday, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said in a statement on Friday. A judge held Jonet-Branco without bail after prosecutors moved for a dangerousness hearing.
His arraignment followed his arrest and an investigation involving the FBI and the Massachusetts State Police’s Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Reduction Enforcement Team (CINRET).
Jonet-Branco is charged with one count of Machine Gun Possession, 10 counts of Possession of a Large Capacity Feeding Device, 10 counts of Possession of a Firearm without a Firearm Identification Card, three counts of Drug Possession with Intent to Distribute, and one count each of Receiving Stolen Property and Possession of Ammunition Without a Firearm Identification Card.
Jonet-Branco became known to CINRET investigators and the FBI after an investigation into Jonet-Branco‘s alleged associates.
During the course of their investigation, law enforcement found that Jonet-Branco owned and operated a business establishment on Crescent Street in Brockton.
Investigators garnered evidence showing the business was “a central location for a criminal enterprise,” Cruz said.
On Wednesday, CINRET, the FBI, and Brockton and Randolph Police executed a search warrant on Jonet-Branco’s Crescent Street business and apprehended Jonet-Branco during a traffic stop.
As a result of the search warrant, investigators seized several firearms — including a Glock machine gun located in a hidden compartment — as well as marijuana, psilocybin, and codeine, Cruz said.
A number of the firearms seized at Jonet-Branco’s store were loaded with high-capacity magazines, Cruz said.
Jonet-Branco is due back in court for a dangerousness hearing on Feb. 9.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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