Buzzards Bay Man Enters Guilty Plea In 2019 Kidnapping Case
A Buzzards Bay man pled guilty on September 30 in a federal court in Boston to his role in a violent kidnapping that occurred in April 2019 and is tied to a Cape Cod heroin trafficking ring investigation.
According to a press release from the office of United States District Attorney Rachael S. Rollins, Cameron Cartier, 28, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice by retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant.
The press release states that the case arose from an investigation into a heroin trafficking conspiracy in the Cape Cod area.
The charges stem from an incident in April 2019. Mr. Cartier and his five alleged co-conspirators allegedly lured a known victim from Massachusetts to Rhode Island, where they held him, stripped him naked, assaulted and threatened to rape him, and then took his clothing and cellular telephone.
Ms. Rollins’s office states that the purpose of this kidnapping and assault was to retaliate against the victim, as Mr. Cartier and, allegedly, his co-conspirators erroneously believed the victim was cooperating with law enforcement.
Two of Mr. Cartier’s alleged co-conspirators, Albert Lee and Anthony Basilici, have already pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the incident. The three remaining defendants—Edwin Otero, Justin Joseph, and Tony Johnson—have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial in January 2023.
United States District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled Mr. Cartier’s sentencing for January 10, 2023.