Norwood Police Arrest Two on Drug Dealing Charges

Norwood Police arrested two alleged drug dealers on Friday in separate incidents, according to a release from the department.

Carlos Alexander Baez-Pena, 29, of Randolph, and Jamahl Lewis, 33, of Norwood, are both scheduled to be arraigned in Dedham District Court today. Baez-Pena is being charged with two counts of distribution of a class B controlled substance (Cocaine), operating a motor vehicle without a license and providing a false name to a police officer. Lewis will be charged with possession of a class D controlled substance (Marijuana) with intent to distribute and operating a motor vehicle on a suspended license.

Police arrested Baez-Pena at 3:20 p.m. on Friday, capping off an investigation led by Detective Paul Ryan of the Norwood Police Department who had obtained a warrant to stop and search him. Detectives of the Norfolk County Police Anti-Crime (NORPAC) Detectives Unit assisted in the investigation.

"During the investigation, an undercover detective of the NORPAC Task Force, referred to in police reports only as 'Detective X,' purchased cocaine from Baez-Pena twice," the release from the NPD stated. "The arrest took place at the corner of Nahatan Street and Norwest Drive, although the apartment complex played no particular role in Baez-Pena’s activity."

When he was arrested, Baez-Pena gave police a false name and presented a Venezuelan driver’s license. However once officers transmitted his fingerprints electronically to the FBI in Clarksburg, West Virginia, they learned his true identity and that he was born in the Dominican Republic. Police also learned that Baez-Pena had been arrested for dealing drugs twice before, once in Boston and once in Needham, and that he had been twice deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Following Friday’s arrest in Norwood, ICE placed a detainer on Baez-Pena and he was held over the weekend without bail.

Two hours after that incident, Norwood Police officers and NORPAC detectives set up surveillance at 47 Chapel Street in Norwood, having obtained a search warrant for apartment 28, the home of Jamahl Lewis.

"About an hour into the surveillance, detectives saw Lewis arrive and they approached him and took him into custody," the police statement reads. "A search of his apartment yielded marijuana, packaging materials, cash and a scale. During his investigation, Officer [David] Eysie learned that Lewis had been selling marijuana from his apartment to local adolescents."

Lewis was eligible for bail and was expected to be released over the weekend, according to Norwood Police.