BOSTON — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Massachusetts), published as received.
BOSTON – Three men, two of whom were arrested this morning, were charged in U.S. District Court in Boston for trafficking fentanyl in the Brockton area. The third defendant was already in state custody. In addition, 36 grams of fentanyl and a firearm were recovered following the execution of a federal search warrant.
Luis DaCosta, 21, aka “Jesse” and “Slu;” Gilvan Monteiro, 25, aka “G;” and Edson Gomes, 19, aka “E” and “Evil,” were charged in a complaint with one count of conspiracy to possess fentanyl with intent to distribute. DaCosta and Gomes were arrested today. Monteiro was already in state custody on unrelated matters. DaCosta and Gomes were detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for April 15, 2016.
As alleged in the complaint, from December 2015 to March 2016, the defendants sold fentanyl on numerous occasions in the Brockton area, and several times the drug was seized by law enforcement from the defendants’ associates. In addition, on Feb. 11, 2016, law enforcement seized a loaded Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun from an associate of Gomes’s during a vehicle stop.
Documents filed in court today also allege that the defendants have violent histories and gang associations. Monteiro has a lengthy criminal record which includes narcotics and firearms offenses and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. According to the affidavit, law enforcement seized fentanyl from Monteiro’s customers on numerous occasions. Gomes, who also has a violent criminal history, is alleged to have engaged in gang-related shootings and a car chase with police as recently as December 2015. According to the affidavit, DaCosta was recently released on bail after he allegedly shot a person in Rhode Island on March 19, 2016. DaCosta also allegedly sold fentanyl to a person that overdosed in February 2016.
Gomes was arrested without incident in Brockton. DaCosta was arrested at the Roadway Inn on Belmont Street, also in Brockton. During the execution of a federal search warrant at the Roadway Inn, officers recovered a firearm, approximately 36 grams of suspected fentanyl and related drug paraphernalia. A woman also present in the Roadway Inn was arrested on state firearms and drug charges.
This case was brought as part of the federal response to the growing opioid abuse epidemic in Massachusetts and other New England states. A recent surge in overdose deaths has been attributed in part to the addition of Fentanyl to heroin. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine and, when added to heroin, creates a toxic mixture substantially more potent, and more dangerous, than heroin alone.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Richard D. McKeon, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley, made the announcement today. The case was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth Country District Attorney’s Office, MSP CAT Team, MSP Gang Unit, the New England High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), and Brockton Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn A. MacKinlay of Ortiz’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit.
The details contained in the complaints are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
