United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Worcester man was sentenced on Sept. 14, 2022 in federal court in Worcester for unlawful firearm possession and trafficking in fentanyl, heroin and cocaine.  

Daniel Donald, 41, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Timothy S. Hillman to 16 years in prison followed by eight years of supervised release. In October 2021, Donald was convicted by a federal jury of one count of possession with intent to distribute over 100 grams of heroin, over 500 grams of cocaine, over 28 grams of cocaine base (a/k/a crack cocaine), and fentanyl; and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Based on his criminal history, the Court determined that Donald qualified as a Career Offender with respect to his drug convictions and an Armed Career Criminal with respect to his possession of the firearm. 

In April 2017, law enforcement began investigating drug sales by Donald and his co-defendant Robert Young on Groton Street in Worcester. On Nov. 30, 2017, searches of two apartments leased by Donald at the property resulted in the discovery of a “hide” located between the exterior and interior walls of the detached apartment located at the rear of the property.  One kilogram of cocaine, 345 grams of heroin, over 80 grams of crack cocaine, approximately 200 pills containing fentanyl and a loaded 9 mm firearm were seized. 

In November 2021, Young was sentenced to five years in prison and three years of supervised release. 

United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; and Worcester Police Chief Steven M. Sargent made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office; and the Westborough, Wellesley, Douglas, and Southbridge Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Greg A. Friedholm, John T. Mulcahy and Lucy Sun of Rollins’ Criminal Division prosecuted the case. 

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.