Good police work at the scene from responding Revere Police officers, command staff and Revere Dispatch led to the discovery of a man kidnapped and beaten for a drug debt, as well as an assortment of weapons that included a Mac-10 machine gun with a silencer on Sunday night.
Revere Police Chief James Guido and Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced that three men were held on high bail Monday after Revere Police responding to a 911 call discovered a cache of weapons that included a machine gun.
Daniel Ballantine, 24, of 96 Eastern Ave., his brother John Ballantine, 28, of 55 Eastern Ave., and Jasmin Tihic, 22, of East Boston, were arraigned late Monday afternoon in Chelsea District Court following their arrests Sunday by Revere Police.
Daniel Ballantine was arraigned on charges of:
- kidnapping,
- assault and battery with a dangerous weapon,
- possession with intent to distribute a Class B drug,
- possession with intent to distribute a Class D drug,
- unlawful possession of a machine gun,
- possession of a firearm silencer,
- 10 counts of unlawful possession of ammunition,
- 10 counts of unlawful possession of a firearm,
- two counts of possession of a large capacity magazine,
- and two counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.
Prosecutors requested bail of $1 million; Judge Matthew Machera imposed $750,000 bail and ordered that Ballantine remain under house arrest and be subject to GPS monitoring in the event he posts that amount.
John Ballantine and Tihic were each arraigned on charges of:
- kidnapping,
- assault and battery with a dangerous weapon,
- assault with a dangerous weapon,
- unlawful possession of a firearm,
- and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.
Prosecutors requested bail of $250,000 for each.
Machera imposed bail of $250,000 for Ballantine and $200,000 for Tihic and ordered each to remain under house arrest and submit to GPS monitoring in the event they post bail.
Revere Police responded to a 911 call for a disturbance in the area of Eastern Avenue at approximately 1 a.m.
Though the call had been disconnected, the regional emergency communication center that received the call was able to provide information regarding the location of the caller. Based on that information, Revere Police responded to the area of 96 Eastern Ave.
There, they located the victim, who appeared disoriented and had cuts to his face.
The victim reported that he had been lured to Daniel Ballantine’s Eastern Avenue apartment, where he was held against his will by the three defendants, beaten with a hammer and baseball bat, and threatened with a machine gun equipped with a silencer over an alleged drug debt, prosecutors said.
He was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital.
Officers located a bag outside the building that was found to contain six handguns, a large amount of ammunition, seven firearm magazines, and a MAC-10 with a silencer and high-capacity magazine that matched the description of the weapon used to threaten the victim.
John Ballantine was taken into custody outside the apartment, while Daniel Ballantine and Tihic were ordered to exit the apartment and taken into custody.
Revere Police executed search warrants at Daniel Ballantine’s apartment and located four additional handguns, two assault rifles, upwards of 300 rounds of ammunition, more than three pounds of marijuana, more than six grams of cocaine, $94,000 in cash, multiple scales and cash counting machines, and other items associated with the illegal distribution of drugs.
“I am extremely proud of the work by all involved and commend them for a job well done. I am very happy that we were able to remove these firearms and narcotics from the street,†Guido said. “The Revere Police works hard every day to make Revere the great place that it is.â€
“This is what we’re referring to when we talk of the nexus of guns, drugs, and violence,†Conley said. “Fortunately, we can be certain that for every gun taken off the streets, we have prevented a future act of violence.â€
All of the defendants return to court Sept. 11.
