Fall River Police arrests result in drug and firearm charges

Fall River Police made two arrests Thursday stemming from a search warrant.

On Thursday March 8, 2019, Detective Paul McGuire and Detective Kwin Silva were conducting surveillance prior to execution of an active search warrant for 58 Ford Street. The target of the search warrant was Tony Almond.

According to Sergeant J.T. Hoar, while conducting surveillance, Detective McGuire observed Almond exit the home and enter the rear of a vehicle parked on the street. Detective McGuire called for additional detectives to respond to the area. While waiting for the other detectives, he observed Almond exit the vehicle and began walking back to the residence. He also observed an unidentified male begin walking toward Almond’s residence.

Detective McGuire and Silva watched both Almond and the other male enter the home and followed them into the entryway to the residence. They immediately encountered Almond and the other male on the first floor threshold. At that time, Detectives announced “Police! Search Warrant!” and Almond began reaching into his pockets while turning his body away from them shielding their view of what he was reaching for. Detectives immediately ordered Almond to show his hands which he complied with while simultaneously throwing a plastic bag to the floor. Upon inspection of the bag, it was determined it contained crack cocaine. The other male was detained and identified as 37 year old James Neal. Detectives determined that Neal had an active warrant for his arrest and was taken into custody.

Detectives executed the search warrant on Almond’s residence and located a loaded Taurus PT739 .380 caliber handgun hidden between a mattress and box spring. A check of this firearm revealed that it was stolen out of Georgia. Detectives also located an additional 14.8 grams of an unknown white powdery substance as well as several digital scales and packaging materials. The substance is pending testing to identify it.

Almond, 35, was charged with the following:
• Possession with intent to Distribute a Class B Drug (Subsequent Offense)
• Possession of Ammunition without an FID Card
• Possession of a non-large capacity firearm without a license
• Possession of a Firearm in commission of a felony
• Possession of a Firearm with 3 prior violent/drug crimes
• Receiving Stolen Properly less than $1200.00

Neal was arrested for the outstanding warrant for the following charges:
• Assault
• Threat to Commit a Crime
• Larceny over $1200