LYNNFIELD — It took more than three decades, but the U.S. Marshals finally got their man.
Lynnfield resident and convicted drug dealer Enrique Rivera, 54, was arrested Monday after he failed to appear for sentencing in a New York courtroom in 1987.
But the arrest wasn’t pretty. Police said he soiled his pants when stopped by three U.S. Marshals and two Lynnfield detectives on Salem Street, less than a mile from his apartment at Lynnfield Commons on Route 1.
“He was taken to the police station where he got cleaned up, took a shower, and given a new pair of pants,” said Capt. Karl Johnson. “Other than that, the arrest was without incident.”
Reached by telephone, Rivera’s wife, Yahaira Portes, requested privacy.
“I’m still in shock,” she said. “I don’t have all the facts and I would like to protect my 4- and 15-year-old children.”
Rivera, who was 22 at the time of sentencing, used a variety of aliases while on the lam, including Eulogio Portes and Enrique Rivera-Nobles, according to police. He was arraigned Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. He will be sentenced on the original charges of four counts of distribution of a controlled substance. The Justice Department could add an additional charge of being a fugitive from justice.
It’s unclear how much time Rivera is facing. A U.S. Marshal spokesman said he did not have immediate access to information on the case. Federal drug sentences differ depending on the types and quantities of drugs. They range anywhere from 5 to 40 years, or 10 years to life, according to federal sentencing guidelines.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Neil Sullivan said he didn’t have information on Rivera’s case other than his arrest and court date.
“I don’t know what led to his arrest after all these years,” he said. “But I can tell you this, a federal warrant does not go away.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].
