United States Drug Enforcement Administration

EUGENE, Ore.—A Gresham, Oregon man with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison on July 11, 2023, after he was arrested transporting methamphetamine in Deschutes County. Dennis Richard DeChenne Jr., 39, was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release...

SEATTLE – A Seattle man, involved with firearms and fentanyl, pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to federal charges that carry a mandatory minimum of five years in prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Lavonta Austin, 30, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge...

WATERBURY, Conn. - Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ARMANDO VARELA-PLAZA, 41, a citizen of Mexico last residing in Queens, New York, has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 37 months of imprisonment for his role in...

BOSTON – Two Lawrence men have pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to conspiring to distribute fentanyl to individuals at the Bedford Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Deiby Bladimil Casado Ruiz, 30, and Pedro Antonio Sanchez Bernabel, 31, both of Lawrence, pleaded guilty on July 21, 2023 to one count...

BOSTON – A Somerville man was sentenced on July 19, 2023 in federal court in Boston for his role in a methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy. William Velez, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 105 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In March...

BOSTON – A Dominican man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for trafficking fentanyl and cocaine, and for unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Francisco Alberto Martinez, 52, was sentenced on July 19, 2023 by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 87 months in prison and...

CONCORD, N.H. – A Vermont man was sentenced in federal court in Concord for unlawfully possessing quantities of methamphetamine and cocaine in New Hampshire, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. Damien Rousseau, Jr., 31, formerly of Vershire, Vermont was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Landya B. McCafferty to...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho – Matthew James Holmberg, 20, of Spokane Valley, Washington, was sentenced on July 19, 2023, to 19 years in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to court records, Holmberg was involved...

BOSTON – A Worcester man was sentenced today in federal court in Worcester for a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine disguised as counterfeit Adderall pills. Nestiano Kristo, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 12 years in prison and five years of supervised release. On March...

CONCORD, N.H. – A Derry man has been charged in connection with importing, manufacturing, and distributing steroids, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. Ralph Cardarelli, 44, was charged with distribution or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and causing a drug to become misbranded after shipment in interstate commerce...