Brockton cops’ drug busts rain on couple’s wedding day

A blushing bride accused of helping her fiance peddle fentanyl and crack on the streets of Brockton was reduced to tears Thursday when she learned she’ll be fitted for a GPS anklet instead of a ring – all while standing in court bedecked in her wedding gown.

Angelixs Martinez-Zayas, 20, a mother of three tots ages 1, 3 and 5 — whose lawyer said she is pregnant with her fourth child — and her groom Daniel Zapata De Los Santos, 34, were arrested by Brockton police Wednesday on their way to get married. Prosecutors said undercover cops made five controlled narcotics buys from the couple between March 22 and Monday — twice in the presence of children.

Instead of saying “I do” on Wednesday Martinez-Zayas and Zapata De Los Santos pleaded “not guilty” Thursday to charges that include trafficking in and distribution of fentanyl, trafficking in cocaine and reckless endangerment of a child.

Zapata De Los Santos — a suspected illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic who authorities say was using the identity of a Puerto Rican U.S. citizen — is additionally charged with two counts of forgery/misuse of a Registry of Motor Vehicles document, one count of possession of a false/stolen RMV document and one count of identity fraud.

Martinez-Zayas, wearing a denim jacket over her shimmering white mini wedding dress, wiped away tears with her freshly manicured nails as Zapata De Los Santos listened to the proceeding through an interpreter. Brockton District Court Judge Jeanmarie Carroll ordered her held on $2,500 bail and him on $100,000.

If Martinez-Zayas posts bail, she will be subject to electronic monitoring and be on curfew between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., Carroll said. She ordered the couple to return May 10 for a probable-cause hearing.

The mother of the bride openly wept in the gallery. Her daughter, born and raised in Brockton and with a previously clean rap sheet, is studying to be a medical assistant and is dependent on $350 a month in public assistance, attorney Jennifer Gonzalez said. Martinez-Zayas is also on medication for a heart condition, she said.

Attorney Shannon Hinegardner said De Los Santos is a roofer, who “has lived in Brockton for three years and has no criminal record. They were supposed to get married yesterday. She is pregnant with their child.”

Assistant Plymouth District Attorney Kevin O’Leary said a marriage certificate was issued to Martinez-Zayas and Zapata De Los Santos on March 19 that lists his place of birth as the Dominican Republic, but he allegedly told police his name was William Ramirez Castillo and he was from Puerto Rico. O’Leary noted Zapata De Los Santos “could not say how many stars were on the Puerto Rican flag.”

He said authorities have been unable to locate a passport for him “and it appears he traveled to the United States from the Dominican Republic without encountering any border patrols, and he was able to obtain a valid Massachusetts I.D. and a stolen identity. He is an extreme flight risk in the eyes of the commonwealth.” Immigration authorities did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.