Mattapan man arrested with 21 bags of cocaine in his mouth, Braintree police say

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Man arrested with 21 bags of cocaine in his mouth
A Mattapan man was arrested Friday afternoon after Braintree police allegedly found him with crack cocaine in his mouth.

According to police, a Braintree officer was working a patrol shift when he saw a black BMW traveling down Union Street with both passenger side tires over the fog line.

The detective looked up the registration and learned that it was registered to a man whose name was involved in a recent drug investigation.

The officer stopped the car and spoke to the driver. Although the driver wasn’t the man the car was registered to, the driver was also the target of a drug investigation, police said.

According to police, the car smelled of burnt marijuana. The officer also suspected that the man was hiding narcotics in his mouth.

Police reported they found several white rocks in plastic concealed under the suspect’s tongue. When police tried to apprehend him, the suspect struggled.

The suspect ultimately spit out 21 baggies of crack cocaine, police said.

Jeremy Lawrence, 39, of Mattapan, was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, resisting arrest, assault and battery, obstructing justice, operating a motor vehicle after license revocation, and failure to keep within marked lanes.

Bail was set at $20,000, police said.

Teen found with weed in South Shore Plaza

A Braintree teen was arrested on Monday after allegedly selling marijuana at the South Shore Plaza.

According to police, officers were working at the South Shore Plaza when they encountered the suspect, who had a strong odor of marijuana coming off of him.

Officers confronted the suspect and discovered a bag of marijuana in the suspect’s pocket and a mason jar of marijuana in his backpack.

The packback also contained additional baggies of marijuana, several empty plastic baggies, and a scale.

Matthew F. Connell, 17, of Braintree was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.