BOSTON, MA — Two Roslindale residents were arrested on drug trafficking and firearms charges following a months-long investigation by the Boston Police Department.
In December, officers assigned to the E-13 (Jamaica Plain) Drug Control Unit received information that two individuals were distributing crack cocaine and fentanyl in the Forest Hills neighborhood.
Officers identified the suspects as Brandon Weltman, 48, of Roslindale, and Ashley Benson, 40, of Roslindale, and determined that a Washington Street residence in Roslindale served as both their home and the base of their narcotics operation.
Investigators observed the pair working in tandem, with both individuals answering calls to negotiate drug transactions and personally delivering narcotics to buyers on foot and by electric scooter.
On March 6, officers obtained search warrants for the suspects’ persons and residence through West Roxbury District Court.
On March 10, an arrest warrant was secured for Weltman in connection with a distribution offense that occurred on March 4.
On the morning of March 11, officers from the E-13 and E-5 (West Roxbury) Drug Control Units established surveillance near the Washington Street residence to execute the warrants.
At approximately 12:20 p.m., officers observed Benson exit the residence and enter a waiting Uber.
Officers followed the vehicle and conducted a stop near the intersection of Washington Street and Ukraine Way.
A search of Benson’s person yielded a black Samsung cell phone, a set of house keys, and a vial containing one pre-packaged unit and one loose rock of crack cocaine recovered from the front pocket of her backpack.
Benson was placed under arrest for Possession with Intent to Distribute a Class B Substance.
Officers then proceeded to the Washington Street residence, where they knocked, announced their presence, and gained entry using the keys recovered from Benson.
Inside, officers located Weltman, who was placed under arrest on the outstanding warrant for Distribution of a Class B Substance.
At 12:36 p.m., officers conducted a search of the residence.
Officers recovered a locked black safe found behind the bedroom bed and opened using keys recovered from Benson.
Inside the safe, officers found a Hi-Point Model C9 firearm, a firearm magazine loaded with seven .380 ACP cartridges and one 9mm Luger cartridge, a plastic bag containing crack cocaine, a plastic bag containing three bags of fentanyl and one bag of crack cocaine, a container holding three additional bags of fentanyl, and a gold-colored wristwatch.
Officers also recovered a digital camouflage scale from the bedroom nightstand, a black cell phone from the bedroom, a Samsung cell phone with a blue case from Weltman in the bathroom, and two motorized scooters from the living room.
At District E-13, officers used a department phone to dial the original phone numbers provided at the outset of the investigation.
One number caused the Samsung phone recovered from Weltman in the bathroom to ring; the other caused the cell phone seized from Benson during the traffic stop to ring, directly linking both suspects to the numbers associated with the drug operation.
Weltman and Benson are expected to be arraigned in West Roxbury District Court.
Each was charged with Trafficking Fentanyl (approximately 54 grams), Trafficking Crack Cocaine (approximately 36 grams), Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Unlawful Possession of Ammunition, and Possession of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony.
