GREENFIELD — With help from Montague Police K-9 Artie, Greenfield Police arrested two on drug trafficking charges Monday night.
A traffic stop and subsequent search around 9 p.m. Monday led to the discovery of 500 bags of heroin — each branded with “Trump 2020” stamps — and nearly 28 grams of crack cocaine, as well as the arrests of Springfield residents Kaliah D. Malloy, 29, and Fernando Massey Jr., 22.
Malloy and Massey were charged with possession with intent to distribute Class A (heroin) and Class B (marijuana) drugs, possession of ammunition without an FID card, trafficking in cocaine (more than 18 grams) and conspiracy to violate the drug law, and were released on $500 and $1,000 bail, respectively, after being arraigned in Greenfield District Court on Tuesday.
On Monday, at 8:46 p.m., Greenfield Police Officer Jay Butynski was parked and monitoring traffic at the Mohawk Trail rotary “when he observed a vehicle pass by him with both a license plate light out and a window tint, which appeared to him to be in excess of the legal limit,” according to a Greenfield Police Department Facebook post.
Butynski stopped the vehicle on the Mohawk Trail shortly before the Shelburne town line.
The driver was identified as Malloy; the passenger, Massey.
Butynski’s narrative, included in court documents, states he became suspicious after Malloy seemed nervous and said, “I’m just heading to North Adams to visit my grandmother,” despite not being asked where she was traveling. Butynski also noticed that Malloy’s GPS was set for a location 39 minutes away, while it would likely take longer to get to North Adams.
According to Butynski, Mohawk Trail is a known route for trafficking drugs from the Holyoke and Springfield area to the Berkshires, and he felt Malloy was not being truthful.
Greenfield Police Officer Patrick Merrigan responded to assist Butynski on the stop, and the officers interviewed the two occupants separately, noting multiple differences in their stories, including whether the grandmother’s name was “Susan” or “Emma.”
“After further investigation roadside, Officer Butynski asked for the assistance of a police K-9,” according to the Facebook post. “Montague Police Officer James Ruddock and his K-9 Artie came out to assist. Following the alerts of Artie, officers searched the vehicle and located approximately 500 bags of substances packaged in a way consistent with heroin. A bag with a substance believed to be ‘crack’ cocaine was also located in the vehicle. Officers also found a single 9 mm round of ammunition.”
Neither Malloy nor Massey have a license to carry or a firearms identification card.
“We would like to thank Officer Ruddock, Artie and the Montague Police Department for their assistance on this case,” the Greenfield Police Department wrote in the post.
Malloy and Massey are due back in court on Dec. 20 and Dec. 12, respectively.