11-08-2025
Defense lawyer argues arrest of accused teen drug dealer was built on flimsy search warrant
PALMER — A lawyer for a Hampden teen accused of dealing drugs from his home and in the parking lot of Minnechaug Regional High School is challenging the search warrants local police filed and led to an arrest.
Nicholas Shea, formerly of Wilbraham, was 18 when he was arrested at school and charged with 22 criminal counts related to drug sales and firearms in January.
Wilbraham police charged Shea with possession of a Class B substance (Oxycodone and Adderall), possession of a Class C substance (Psilocybin mushrooms), and possession of a Class E substance (Xanax). He also faces charges of possession of a Class B substance (cocaine and crack cocaine), and possession of illegal firearms.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on house arrest.
He was arrested early on a Friday morning as school was set to begin.
Police executed two separate search warrants for his car and his home on Raymond Drive.
Defense attorney Daniel D. Kelly on Friday argued to a judge in Palmer District Court the evidence gleaned from the searches should be tossed since the applications for the search warrants were flimsy, built on speculation and conjecture.
For one, the applications cited carrying a backpack as a matter of suspicion.
'We know that drug dealers often utilize backpacks,' Kelly said, quoting one application. 'People who also use backpacks are students going to school. Every single person of this age walking to Minnechaug High School were using backpacks,' Kelly told Judge Michael Mulcahy.
He also pointed out that one of the key things that led police to pursue an investigation was an anonymous letter from a 'concerned citizen,' who told investigators there was a fair amount of traffic going to and from Shea's home.
'The letter was not tested for basis on knowledge or veracity,' Kelly argued.
Police said that during physical surveillance at Shea's home, they spotted him coming out carrying a bag of 'brick-like' substances and stash it in his trunk. They also said students had met Shea at school, and jumped in his car briefly before jumping back out again.
Kelly countered that the police had not conducted any 'controlled buys' of narcotics using their own operatives.
Assistant Hampden District Attorney Andrew Gilbert argued the defense's motion to suppress evidence should be denied.
Mulcahy took the matter under advisement. However, the judge granted a motion to relax the conditions of Shea's pretrial release — namely, the house arrest.
Mulcahy eased the 'round the clock curfew to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
This led to a mini-celebration by Shea in the parking lot after the hearing.
'Free at last!' he said while throwing his arms out before climbing into his Mercedes.
'I love you, but you need to be home by 8,' his mother responded.
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