Criminal Charges:
Dominican man charged in the Bristol County Superior Court, Massachusetts for:
- Fentanyl Trafficking, in violation of M.G.L. c. 94C, § 32E
Case Overview:
A Dominican man was the target of a drug investigation by New Bedford Police. Investigators obtained warrants for the man’s arrest and to search an apartment where they believed he both stored drugs and operated his illicit business. Investigators conducting surveillance of the man’s apartment building observed him exit the building, enter a vehicle and drive away. They then conducted a motor vehicle stop and arrested him. A search of the man yielded the discovery of approximately 90 grams of fentanyl. Investigators then executed a search warrant for the apartment associated with the man. Inside, they discovered nearly 200 grams of fentanyl along with other items associated with drug trafficking to include packaging materials, digital scales, blenders, sifters, cutting agents, and more. Investigators also searched a second apartment, for which they did not have a warrant. They entered this apartment because keys found on the man’s person fit the lock on the second apartment door. Inside they found more than 7 kilograms of fentanyl. Based on these discoveries, the man was arrested and charged with drug trafficking of fentanyl in a quantity of 200 grams or more, which called for a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years, if convicted. The man was initially charged in New Bedford District Court and ordered held without bail. He was ultimately indicted in Bristol County Superior Court. He and his family retained Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend him in this matter.
Case Result: 8 Years in State Prison.
Attorney Calcagni successfully moved to suppress the multiple kilograms from the second apartment on the basis that investigators conducted an illegal, warrantless search of the apartment where this large quantity of drugs was found. This still left the man with approximately 300 grams of fentanyl to defend against. Over time, Attorney Calcagni successfully persuaded the District Attorney’s Office to reduce the pending drug charge of fentanyl trafficking in a quantity of 200 grams or more to trafficking in fentanyl in a quantity of 100 grams or more, which reduced to man’s applicable mandatory minimum sentence from 12 years to 8 years. The man then admitted guilt in exchange for this significantly reduced sentence, which the Court imposed.