An illegal immigrant from Brazil who remained in Massachusetts under local sanctuary policies despite an assault conviction and federal detainer last month has been arrested again on robbery charges.
Lucas Vilaca Moreira Fontenelle, 21, is among three illegals accused of robbing a Brazilian bodega in Milford, a town of about 28,000 residents, 40 miles southwest of Boston.
Fontenelle received a suspended sentence on Dec. 11 for two counts of assault and battery with a firearm in nearby Framingham, according to the Boston Herald.
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From left to right, Brazilian robbery suspects Daniel Generoso, Lucas Vilaca Moreira Fontenelle and Jonathan Lima de Arajuo. (Milford Police Department)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed a detainer on him, but the city jail cut him loose without warning the feds.
Framingham leaders began exploring how to establish it as a sanctuary city in 2019, according to the New Boston Post, a conservative news site.
Now, Fontenelle is accused of obtaining another gun, putting on a mask and barging into a butcher shop in Milford with another illegal immigrant and stealing more than $1,200 in an armed robbery on Jan. 9, less than a month after his release from custody.
The third suspect was waiting outside in the getaway car, a dark gray Dodge Durango.
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Still images taken from security video at the Aroma Brazil convenience store in Milford, Massachusetts, on Jan. 9. Three suspects have been arrested in the case – all of them illegal immigrants from Brazil. (Milford Police Department)
Milford police said they arrested him at a Holiday Inn Express on Jan. 15.
Earlier that day, police arrested Daniel Generoso, 26, another Brazilian citizen who entered the U.S. illegally and is accused of taking part in the robbery. Police arrested him following a “prolonged” standoff at a house in Milford.
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ICE has placed a detainer on him as well as a third Brazilian named Jonathan Lima de Araujo, 19. Araujo was arrested without incident, according to Milford police.
It was not immediately clear when Fonetnelle and Generoso entered the country.
U.S. Border Patrol arrested Araujo in May 2021 and let him go under the condition he check in with ICE, according to the Herald report.
The Boston office of ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, which requested the detainers, said on X that detainers are a “critical tool” to protect Americans against public safety threats.
Just last month, Customs and Border Protection reported a record number of migrant encounters at the southern border with more than 302,000.
