Repeat offender who cut off GPS sentenced to prison in Fall River Superior Court on drug trafficking charges

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, III announced that a 37-year-old man has pled guilty and was sentenced in the Fall River Superior Court to serve a State Prison sentence of 8-10 years followed by 1 year of probation for two separate drug trafficking cases and failing to appear for Court.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Catherine Sauter.

In May of 2023, Marcus Depina of New Bedford was observed by members of the New Bedford Police enter the passenger side of a vehicle under surveillance.  Police attempted to pull over the vehicle after police observed a motor vehicle infraction.  The vehicle failed to stop and fled from police.  During the police chase, the defendant jumped from the passenger side of the vehicle and discarded items in a nearby bush.  Depina was apprehended by police and taken into custody.  Police located 3 bags of cocaine in the bushes that weighed approximately 323 grams.  At the time of this offense, he was on probation for vandalizing property.  The defendant’s probation was violated, and he was sentenced to serve 9 months to the House of Correction on the Vandalizing Property case.  The Commonwealth had requested Depina be held without bail as a danger to the community when he was arraigned on the May 2023 drug case.  The Court set bail in the amount of $20,000.00 along with a GPS monitoring bracelet.  At the conclusion of the 9-month sentence to the House of Correction, Depina posted the $20,000 bail and was released on a GPS bracelet on the May 2023 drug trafficking case.

On March 1, 2024, while Depina was out on $20,000 bail and GPS for the May 2023 narcotics charges, he was the target of a search warrant by the New Bedford Police at 431 Mill Street Apartment 1.  During the execution of that search warrant, New Bedford police located a bag of crack cocaine weighing approximately 24 grams and a bag of fentanyl weighing 1 gram on the defendant.  In the apartment, police located packaging materials, paperwork in the defendant’s name and $852 in cash.  When Depina was arrested, he was bailed by a court clerk and released.  The defendant then cut off his GPS bracelet and fled on March 4, 2024, the date of his arraignment in the New Bedford District Court.  The defendant was located by police on March 12, 2024. 

“After being released on bail for drug trafficking the defendant was caught again selling drugs. Unfortunately, he was released before going to court and cut off his GPS bracelet and had to be apprehended a third time. The sentence imposed by the court is appropriate to protect the community from the defendant,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said.