Fall River, Swansea Police Arrest Man With 125 Grams of Fentanyl

SWANSEA — The Fall River Police Department just released details of an arrest earlier this month in which a man was arrested after being found with 125 grams of fentanyl as well as an illegal firearm.

On March 3, members of the Fall River Police Vice and Intelligence Unit, with assistance from the Swansea Police Department, executed two search warrants at the Holiday Inn Express located at 1400 Grand Army of the Republic Highway in Swansea.

Police say the targets of the warrants were Jesus Natal-Hernandez and Widalys Natal-Colon, and police were looking to search their room, Room 322, as well as a 2014 Ford Fusion.

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According to police, during the search they found a 9mm Taurus PT92 semi-automatic handgun; a loaded 9mm 15-round capacity magazine; 125 grams of suspected fentanyl; 0.7 grams of suspected crack cocaine; and $1,963 in cash.

Jesus Natal-Hernandez was arrested and charged with: carrying a loaded firearm without a license in public; possession of a large capacity firearm while committing a felony; possession of a large capacity feeding device; possession with intent to distribute a Class B drug; trafficking in a Class A drug over 100 grams; and possessing a firearm with a prior violent or drug crime.

“In this case, the Fall River Police were aware that Jesus Natal-Hernandez was bringing drugs into our city while living at the Holiday Inn Express,” said Fall River Police Chief Jeffrey Cardoza. “Subsequently, we worked with our partners in Swansea to end this activity. I commend (lead investigator) Det. (Paul) McGuire and the Swansea Police for helping us take another firearm and a substantial amount of drugs off the street.”

Dan Elliott, General Manager of the Holiday Inn Express Swansea, clarified that the suspects were not "living at" the hotel.

"(Natal-Hernandez) checked into the hotel earlier this month and stated that he and (Natal-Colon) were looking for an apartment. Through their short stay, they were quiet guests who kept to themselves. We never observed any suspicious activity to or from this room or received any complaints from other guests," Elliott said, noting that once the hotel found out about the charges against Natal-Hernandez, hotel staff immediately ejected Natal-Colon from the premises.