Fall River Drug Dealer Tries to Run — Cop Yells "I've Got the Dog!" (There Was No Dog)

A 22-year-old Fall River drug dealer made a run for it Thursday afternoon when detectives moved in to frisk him. He almost got away. Then a cop shouted three words — “I’ve got the dog!” — and the whole thing was over. No K9 was on scene. It was a complete bluff. And it worked like a charm on a guy who was allegedly carrying a loaded, illegally-modified pistol and over 150 grams of crack cocaine in a cross-body purse.

Who Is Jullianni Berrios — And Why Were Detectives Watching Him?

This wasn’t a random stop. Fall River CAST detectives were already onto Jullianni Berrios, 22, before they ever laid eyes on him Thursday afternoon. He was already a named suspect in an active firearms investigation — meaning cops had reason to believe he was carrying a gun long before they pulled up on him near Hartwell Street and Rodman Street.

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When they spotted him, Berrios was wearing a cross-body purse. That detail matters — detectives with specialized training recognized his body language and the way he was carrying himself as signs consistent with someone who is armed. It’s not a gut feeling. It’s a trained read. And in this case, they were right.

A quick check confirmed what they already suspected: Berrios had no license to carry a firearm in Massachusetts. At that point, the decision was made. They were going to stop him, order him out of the vehicle, and frisk that purse.

Simple enough, right? Except Berrios had other plans.

The Chase — And the World’s Most Effective Bluff

Detectives ordered Berrios out of the vehicle and began the process of removing his cross-body purse to conduct a frisk. That’s when Berrios made his move. He ducked right under the purse straps — slipping loose — and took off on foot across Plymouth Avenue.

Now, running from police in Fall River is not exactly a new pastime. But what happened next is worth savoring.

One of the CAST detectives — quick thinking, zero hesitation — shouted after him: “I’ve got the dog!”

There was no dog. No K9 unit. No four-legged anything anywhere near Plymouth Avenue that afternoon. The detective made it up on the spot.

Jullianni Berrios stopped running.

Just like that. A 22-year-old man, allegedly armed with a loaded pistol and carrying enough crack cocaine to generate serious trafficking charges, was stopped dead in his tracks by the idea of a dog that didn’t exist.

To be fair — police K9s are absolutely terrifying and nobody should test that theory. The instinct to stop was probably the smartest call Berrios made all day. It just happened to be based on fiction.

What Was in the Purse

Once Berrios was back in custody, detectives got a look at what was in that cross-body purse. It was not light reading.

One Smith & Wesson M&P .40 caliber handgun — loaded with 10 rounds, and with its serial number defaced. Defacing a serial number is a federal offense on its own. It’s what you do to a gun when you don’t want it traced back to where it came from.
Approximately 151 grams of crack cocaine — that’s well over the 100-gram threshold that triggers Massachusetts cocaine trafficking charges, which carry mandatory minimum sentences.
Over $1,000 in cash.

Let’s be clear about what 151 grams of crack cocaine represents. That’s not a personal use amount. That’s not even close. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 94C, Section 32E, trafficking cocaine in an amount over 100 grams carries a mandatory minimum of eight years in state prison. The law doesn’t mess around at that weight, and neither do prosecutors.

The defaced serial number on the firearm adds another layer of serious. That detail tells you something about the gun’s history — and none of it is good. A gun with a scratched-off serial number doesn’t accidentally end up in a cross-body purse next to 150+ grams of crack.

The Charges — And What Happened in Court

Berrios was arraigned and hit with a stack of charges that reads like a Greatest Hits of things you don’t want to be charged with in Massachusetts:

Carry Firearm Without a License
Carry Loaded Firearm Without a License
Possess a Large Capacity Firearm
Possess a Large Capacity Firearm in Commission of a Felony
Possess Firearm with Defaced Serial Number During Commission of a Felony
Trafficking Cocaine (100 grams or more)
Disorderly Conduct
Disturbing the Peace

He pled not guilty to all charges. In a move that will surprise exactly no one, the judge ordered him held without bail on dangerousness grounds. A detention hearing has been set for Wednesday.

“Held without bail on dangerousness” is the court’s way of saying: this person is a risk to the public and we are not letting them walk out that door with a date to come back. Given the loaded gun, the defaced serial, and 151 grams of crack — it’s hard to argue with the judge’s read on this one.

Who Are the CAST Detectives — And What Were They Doing on Hartwell Street?

CAST stands for the Community Action Street Team — a specialized unit within the Fall River Police Department focused on proactive, intelligence-driven street enforcement. These aren’t patrol officers stumbling onto something. CAST detectives are out specifically targeting known suspects, active investigations, and high-crime areas.

Thursday’s operation was exactly that. They weren’t just rolling through the neighborhood — they were out looking for Berrios, who was already flagged in a firearms investigation. The proactive patrol near Hartwell Street and Rodman Street wasn’t random. They were there because they knew what they were looking for.

The Fall River PD has invested in training CAST detectives to recognize signs of concealed weapons — posture, movement, the way someone carries themselves when they’ve got something on them. It’s a court-recognized skill set, and it’s why the stop held up legally from the moment they approached Berrios.

This is what effective policing looks like: targeted, trained, and not waiting for someone to get shot before making an arrest.

The Bottom Line

Somewhere in Fall River Thursday afternoon, a detective shouted “I’ve got the dog!” at a fleeing drug dealer. There was no dog. The dealer stopped anyway.

A loaded .40 caliber handgun with a defaced serial number, 151 grams of crack cocaine, and over a thousand dollars in cash are now in an evidence room. Jullianni Berrios is sitting in a cell waiting for a detention hearing. And somewhere out there, a CAST detective is probably still laughing about it.

The lesson here isn’t complicated: if you’re going to run from police in Fall River, maybe first make sure you know whether or not they have a K9. And if you’re going to run with a felony’s worth of drugs and a gun with no serial number on you — maybe just don’t run at all. The outcome’s going to be the same either way.

Source: Fall River Reporter