Man placed on probation, charged only hours later
Jun. 4—WEST NEWBURY — Hours after being placed on probation by a Newburyport District Court judge for making off with a muscle car and then later injecting himself with drugs behind an Amesbury pharmacy, a Maine man was summonsed back to court for drug trafficking, according to state police records.
Benjamin Rebello, 30, of Sanford was summonsed Thursday about 2 a.m. on a heroin trafficking charge after state and local police responded to a suspicious car on South Street near Turkey Hill Road.
State police records show Rebello was transported to Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport shortly after police arrived, prompting the court summons as opposed to being arrested.
A state police official said it appears Rebello was found passed out behind the wheel.
Court records dating back to August listed Rebello's address as being in Warwick, Rhode Island, but state police records now show a Sanford address.
Rebello, according to Amesbury police, stole a Dodge Charger from a man and a cellphone from another man before being caught injecting himself with drugs behind a CVS Pharmacy in August.
Charges of receiving stolen property and larceny against Rebello were continued without a finding for two years during his appearance Wednesday in court.
Judge Peter Doyle also ordered Rebello to pay $1,800 in restitution to his victims. In addition to paying restitution, Rebello must remain drug and alcohol free with random screens and stay out of trouble with the law.
A continued without finding resolution is considered a form of probation by District Court.
Amesbury police responded to Cumberland Farms on Main Street on Aug. 13 about 4:20 p.m. after a man said Rebello stole his cellphone. The victim told police he saw Rebello walking away from a Dodge Charger parked in the breakdown lane on Interstate 95 south in Amesbury.
Rebello told a good Samaritan he ran out of gas on the highway and asked for a lift to a gas station. That man drove Rebello to the Cumberland Farms, where Rebello asked if he could use the man's cellphone.
The man handed over the cellphone and waited as Rebello entered the convenience store. After it became apparent Rebello had taken off with his cellphone, the victim called police. The man then realized Rebello had left his car keys in his car, Sgt. David Noyes wrote in his report.
Police searched the area and saw Rebello behind a nearby CVS Pharmacy injecting drugs into his left arm.
Other officers arrived and arrested Rebello. At his feet were food and beverages he later admitted stealing from Cumberland Farms. Rebello told Noyes he had gotten a ride from a person in Maine who was driving him to a sober house. According to Noyes, Rebello left the victim's cellphone inside the convenience store.
About the same time, police saw the Dodge Charger alongside I-95. A dispatcher told officers the car had been reported stolen from South Portland, Maine. The car keys found in the the good Samaritan's car were driven over to the Charger.
"They belonged to it," Noyes wrote in his report.
The Charger, filled with luggage, was later identified as belonging to an Illinois man who was working in South Portland. The car owner told police he had driven the car to the job site about 1 p.m. and stopped at the gate. He left the car for a moment with the engine still running. When he turned around a few seconds later, the car and his luggage were gone.
Rebello later admitted to swiping the Charger.
"The car was running and unlocked. He said he was just having some fun," Noyes wrote in his report.
Staff writer Dave Rogers can be reached at drogers@newburyportnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.
