Alleged ass-grabbing oyster shucker now facing drug charges

A Colombian national who got bounced from oyster shucking jobs at two well known eateries was arrested last week on charges of being a coke dealer, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Wilmer Fernandez, a.k.a. Weimar Foronda, was arrested July 16 at the Irish Famine Memorial in Downtown Crossing by BPD detectives who had been tracking his activities for several months, the DA's office says.

Armed with a search warrant, police found "16.5 grams of cocaine, $263 in cash, a cell phone, and Colombian identification papers," the DA's office reports. "The cocaine was divided into multiple small plastic bags and was ready for distribution."

Fernandez, 41, had been arrested in 2011 on charges of indecent assault and battery after a waitress at Durgin-Park filed a complaint with police that he had grabbed her buttocks. The restaurant lost its license for two days after other waitresses said he had grabbed them as well but that they never complained because they were under the impression they just had to put up with it.

According to police, Fernandez skipped his arraignment, then showed up at the Union Oyster House, which hired him as an oyster shucker. On Oct. 22, detectives investigating his possible drug dealing showed up to search his locker.

A Boston Municipal Court judge set Fernandez's bail at $15,000 at his arraignment on charges of trafficking 14-28 grams of cocaine and a drug violation near a school or park. The DA's office reports Fernandez remains behind bars, both because of the bail and because of a request by immigration officials to keep him locked up for possibly being in the country illegally.

Innocent, etc.