For Immediate Release

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Media Contact: Benjamin Paulin
Phone: 781-428-3299
[email protected]

Statement of Fairhaven Police Chief Michael Myers Regarding Drug Conviction

FAIRHAVEN — Chief Michael Myers today praised the successful conviction and sentencing of a drug dealer who was arrested twice within a year for trafficking opioids in Fairhaven.

ZACHARY LOVEGROVE, AGE 29, OF FAIRHAVEN AND NEW BEDFORD, pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court last week to indictments charging him with two counts of trafficking heroin, and one count each of distribution of Suboxone, distribution of Xanax, and possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to serve five to seven-and-a-half years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced Thursday.

“The Fairhaven Police Department aggressively pursues drug dealers and suppliers and brings them to justice,” Chief Myers said. “I would like to praise the work of our Fairhaven Police officers, our partners in municipal law enforcement and the prosecutors out of the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, who brought this case to a successful conclusion.”

On Nov. 4, 2016 Fairhaven Police were conducting surveillance at various commercial parking lots in town due to increasing narcotics activity. LOVEGROVE was seen on back-to-back days in commercial parking lots acting suspicious. On this date, he was seen by police going into the trunk of his car, reaching into his pants, removing something and placing it in the trunk. He then re-entered his car and began to drive away. Police ran his license plate and discovered he was driving with a suspended license. Police stopped the defendant’s vehicle and placed him under arrest. While conducting an inventory of his vehicle, police recovered 19 grams of a heroin/cocaine/fentanyl mixture, 164 Xanax pills in various baggies, 32 Suboxone strips and more than $1,000 in cash.

Then, on Sept. 22, 2017, while out on $10,000 cash bail, LOVEGROVE was again arrested with nearly 40 grams of a heroin, cocaine and fentanyl mixture and one bag of cocaine. Fairhaven Police had received information that LOVEGROVE was staying in town at a friend’s house and was using that house as a base of operations for dealing drugs. Surveillance was set up outside the home and LOVEGROVE was seen meeting with known drug users and making hand-to-hand transactions with them.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Veenstra and the state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Renee Dupuis.

“This defendant was out on bail when he was caught selling drugs once again. It is particularly disturbing that the drugs contained a very toxic mixture of heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, which has led to an increase in fatal overdoses during the last several years. This defendant is a danger to the community and the public will be protected from him for up to seven-and-half-years,” District Attorney Quinn said. “I would like to thank the Fairhaven Police for their investigative efforts, which led to the arrest and conviction of the defendant.”

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