United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Lawrence man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for distributing more than 100 grams of fentanyl.

Rafael Sierra-Baez, 42, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. In November 2022, Sierra-Baez pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

On five separate occasions between Feb. 22, 2022 and May 4, 2022, Sierra-Baez sold fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Methuen. Sierra-Baez coordinated and arranged all five deals and personally met with the cooperating witness to conduct the hand-to-hand transactions. On one occasion, Sierra-Baez was observed returning to his residence with a young child before exiting a few minutes later to conduct the drug deal. In total, Sierra-Baez sold about 120 grams of fentanyl.

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Dell’Anno of Rollins’ Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.