HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN?

Cash seized

 

Henry DePena

 

Narcotics seized

 

 

I received the press release below from HPD this evening and after reading it  I had to wonder how something like this happens?

FROM HPD:

On August 7, 2013 at 1100am Detectives from the Hartford Police Department Vice & Narcotics Division executed a search warrant on the Los Cubanitos Market at 206 Park Street. Entry was gained without incident. The primary target and owner, Henry Depena, was detained. As a result Detectives seized over $4000.00 in currency and a very large quantity of illegal prescription drugs including Oxycodone, Suboxone and Viagra.

 

Depena, 46 of Hartford (6 previous arrests) was charged with 6 charges, including Possession of Narcotics with intent to sell and operating a drug factory. Depena was held on a $200,000 bond. This is the 4th time in less than 5 years that HPD has successfully conducted an operation on Depena’s market for this type of activity. The market has also been the central location of over 150 police actions in the past 5 years.

 

Depena has a court date of 08/14/13.

 

This is the part that caught my attention:This is the 4th time in less than 5 years that HPD has successfully conducted an operation on Depena’s market for this type of activity. The market has also been the central location of over 150 police actions in the past 5 years.

 

The fourth time in less than five years, are the courts asleep? What does it take to get someone off the streets that is dumping poison onto our streets. And it is not just drugs also. I regularly get press releases outlining shootings and other crimes where both suspects and victims sometimes have 30, 40 or even 50 arrests. What does it take for the prosecutors and judges take these crimes seriously.

 

I recently had a regular reader of the blog e-mail me for help with an individual that was "running" South Marshall Street and tormenting some good people that live there The individual had been arrested recently for carrying a sawed off shotgun and was involved in several incidents. In one of the incidents he had a set of brass knuckles he was wearing. The brass knuckles also had a knife attached. During one of his assaults, he punched his victim in the eye, plunging the blade in and blinding the victim in one eye.

 

Does this seem like someone that should be on the streets of any neighborhood in Hartford? The Police did their job and arrested the man again. The people in the neighborhood were thrilled to get word that he was taken off the streets and being held on a $780,000.00 bond. They were as surprised as I was when he was released later in the day when a bondsman took his bond for only $19,000.00. Now bond is not supposed to be punitive, I get that, but $19,000 for what should have been $780.000?

 

Any bets on whether he will appear in Court without a Failure to Appear charge?

 

Four raids in five years is ridiculous, get him off our streets