By Adam Swift
The city council took up two motions at its first meeting of the year Monday night in response to the Dec. 27 arrest of a Dominican national residing at the Quality Inn in Revere.
Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, 28, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and one count of being an alien in possession of a firearm who has entered the United States unlawfully.
Sanchez was allegedly found with approximately 5 kilograms of suspected fentanyl and an assault rifle at the Quality Inn, which was being used as an emergency assistance shelter by the state.
Ward 3 Councilor Anthony Cogliandro filed a motion requesting that the mayor direct the police chief to work together with hotel management from each hotel within the city to investigate each occupied room for suspicious and/or illegal activity.
Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley introduced a motion asking that the mayor and the state legislative delegation request that representatives from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities appear before a Committee of the Whole of the Revere City Council to discuss the procedures for vetting people who obtain emergency assistance shelter.
“This is 100 percent in response to the weapons and drugs that were found inside of a hotel,” said Cogliandro of his motion. “I just want to make it clear about something, I’ve gotten a ton of calls about this, and nowhere on this motion does it say anything about migrants. This is a public safety issue, the migrant issue is a different issue.”
Cogliandro said he has spoken to the mayor and the police, and that the city has received a letter from hotel management stating that everyone was working together on the issue.
“I have full faith in the Revere Police Department and the administration to handle this properly within our power that we can handle it,” he said.
Kelley said she did have some concerns about whether the motion would violate Fourth Amendment rights on illegal search and seizure and if the motion would apply to all hotels in the city or just the Quality Inn which is serving as an emergency shelter.
Cogliandro said it would apply to all hotels and requested the motion be placed on file.
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya said she supported the motion.
“Ensuring public safety requires diligence and screening individuals who obtain emergency shelters to prevent similar instances from occurring,” she said. “Hotels have the responsibility to take measures into their hands and do background checks when accepting guests under such circumstances. The collaborative effort would enhance public safety, uphold community trust, and ensure that Revere remains a safe environment for all our residents and visitors.”
Kelley said her motion also addresses the incident at the emergency assistance shelter at the Quality Inn.
“The public’s anger is justified and I stand with them in demanding answers,” said Kelley. “It is appalling that a state-run resource funded by taxpayer dollars operating under a unique right-to-shelter law was so fundamentally flawed.”
Kelley said the incident showed an overwhelming failure of procedural safeguards by the state.
“But sadly, it doesn’t end there,” she said. “In December 2024, after months of delays, the Healey administration finally released public records revealing that over a thousand serious incidents were reported at state shelters between January, 2023, and August, 2024. This staggering number should have raised immediate red flags and prompted action long before this most recent incident.”
Kelley said criminal and background checks were not done on the people placed in the emergency assistance shelters.
“The safety, wellbeing, and quality of life of our residents must be our top priority in all decision-making processes, and in this instance, the Commonwealth’s decision-making process failed us miserably,” said Kelley.
As the emergency shelters are phased out and residents transitioned to more permanent housing, Kelley said it is crucial that the city is fully informed about the processes and procedures that will be implemented not only at the Quality Inn, but also for future housing initiatives.
“My motion specifically asks that this council support a request for the mayor and state delegation to formally ask representatives from the Executive Office of Housing and Liveable Communities to appear before the committee of the whole and vote favorably upon it this evening,” said Kelley. “It is imperative that we have a full and transparent discussion about this recent incident, the failures of the current shelter system,and the procedures that will be implemented going forward to ensure that this never happens again in the Commonwealth and especially in our city.”
Councillor-at-Large Anthony Zambuto said the right-to-shelter law was never meant for migrants, it was meant for citizens, but that good intentions went wrong.
Council President Marc Silvestri said it was an emotional topic and that there were protections and guidelines in place that were missed by the state.
“I do want to state, that yes, it is a problem in our community, and yes, it is dangerous the amount of drugs, the weapon, it’s reprehensible,” he said. “But the person staying (there) was a mom, and no one knows her issue or what she was in from, but we do know that she appreciated what she had so much that she called 911 herself and she had the man that she had the man who was living in that room arrested. I’m not saying it makes it right … but I am saying that it’s a situation that (has) a lot of moving pieces.
“The governor has spoken on it, the mayor has confirmed to me that he was in touch with the governor, and I think now is the time not to point fingers and take blame; it’s time to rally together and make sure what happens is legally and lawfully done.”
