Fall River home invader sentenced to prison

FALL RIVER — A Fall River man was sentenced to up to eight years in state prison for his role in the 2018 armed burglary of an apartment where legal marijuana was being grown, according to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office.

Jose Dias, 46, pleaded guilty July 10 to grand jury indictments charging him with assault and battery, armed assault with intent to rob and armed assault in a dwelling, according to the Superior Court criminal clerk’s office and a spokesman for Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.

Judge Raffi Yessayan sentenced Dias to serve four-and-a-half to eight years in state prison, DA spokesman Gregg Miliote said in a news release.

On Feb. 18 of last year, someone knocked on the front door of a North End apartment, identified himself as a police officer and demanded the occupants of the apartment open the door, according to a police report.

But before any of the three people inside the apartment could answer, Dias’ accomplice, who Miliote said authorities have not identified, kicked in the door and yelled, “Where’s the stuff?"

The unidentified burglar was described as a white male, about 5-foot-10 to 6 feet tall, 200 to 230 pounds, and had black hair. He was wearing a black zip-up jacket with a black mask covering the lower half of his face.

Dias and his accomplice ordered a woman and her 14-year-old-son to kneel on the living room floor at knife-point, according to Miliote.

Dias held a knife to the throat of the woman’s boyfriend, but the man overpowered Dias, Miliote said. An upstairs neighbor who heard the commotion helped the woman’s boyfriend hold Dias on the floor while the woman went outside and flagged down Fall River police officer Derek Pereira. Dias was taken into custody.

All three victims suffered minor injuries and were taken to Charlton Memorial Hospital for treatment. According to Miliote, the marijuana being grown in the victims' apartment was legal.

The episode was not Dias’ first run-in with the law. Dias served time behind bars for for an armed robbery and OUI homicide, according to Miliote, and his record did not go unnoticed by Quinn.

“At the age of 46, he still presents an ongoing danger to the community and needed to be confined for as long as possible," Quinn said of Dias in a statement.

Email Amanda Burke at aburke@heraldnews.com.