United States Drug Enforcement Administration

BOSTON – A Methuen man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for selling a fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl mixture to an undercover agent on five occasions.

Andi Guerrero-Lara, a/k/a “Manny Sierra,” 25, was sentenced on Sept. 28, 2022 by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to seven years in prison and four years of supervised release. On Jan. 5, 2022, Guerrero-Lara pleaded guilty to a seven count superseding indictment charging him with one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl; three counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 10 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl; two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 10 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl; and one count of possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

In December 2019, Guerrero-Lara was indicted along with co-defendant Angel Rivera-Valle. He was subsequently charged in a superseding indictment on Sept. 2, 2020.

The defendants were members of a drug trafficking organization operating in the Merrimack Valley area of Massachusetts that regularly sold large quantities of fentanyl.  Between September and October 2019, an undercover agent purchased a fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl mixture from the defendants on five separate dates. According to court documents, after Rivera-Valle was arrested, Guerrero-Lara led agents on a high-speed car chase in 2019 that spanned numerous miles and three cities during which Guerrero-Lara endangered multiple lives, as he narrowly missed crashing into a construction zone and police vehicles. Ultimately, Guerrero-Lara stopped his vehicle at an apartment complex in Lawrence and was arrested.

On Sept. 8, 2020, Rivera-Valle was sentenced by Judge Sterns to 64 months in prison and four years of supervised release.

“Drug traffickers like Mr. Guerrero-Lara are a danger to our communities. This individual pumped deadly opioids into our neighborhoods and, when he was finally exposed, recklessly endangered multiple lives in lengthy, a high-speed car chase,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “Opioids are the leading cause of now record-high drug overdose deaths – cutting short the lives of far too many. This sentence should serve as a warning to drug traffickers: you will be identified, prosecuted and held accountable.”

“Massachusetts is in the midst of a devastating opioid crisis as deaths from fentanyl soar. The DEA will continue to use every resource available to identify those, like Mr. Guerrero-Lara, who are contributing to the crisis,” said Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division made the announcement. “This sentence holds Mr. Guerrero-Lara accountable for his crimes and we will continue to work to put other callous distributers like him behind bars.”

This case is part of a coordinated enforcement operation in the Merrimack Valley called “Devil’s Highway.” The operation targeted the distribution of opioids, including fentanyl and heroin and resulted in charges against a total of 40 people for federal drug offenses, with at least a dozen more individuals facing state charges.        

U.S. Attorney Rollins and DEA SAC Boyle made the announcement. Assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Andover Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea E. Porter of Rollins’ Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.