2nd Boston Gang Member Pleads Guilty In Prison Drug Smuggling Scheme

Hearns is currently serving a sentence for manslaughter.

By Benjamin Pierce, Patch Staff

Nov 5, 2026 3:51 PM EST

BOSTON, MA — A Roxbury man pleaded guilty in federal court for his role in a drug conspiracy involving the H-Block gang, according to the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

Timothy Hearns, 36, also known as "King Kill," "Tooly," and "Toolman," pleaded guilty on Oct. 30 to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute PCP and two synthetic cannabinoids.

Hearns was one of 10 H-Block members and associates charged in August 2024 following a multiyear investigation. The investigation began in 2021 in response to an increase in gang-related drug trafficking, shootings, and violence. According to federal authorities, Hearns was a longtime gang member and one of three members and associates charged with conspiring to smuggle illegal drugs into a Massachusetts prison.

The scheme involved saturating or spraying sheets of paper with liquid drugs before drying them and printing fake legal correspondence on them. The paper was then mailed to inmates in envelopes marked as legal mail in an effort to have the drugs delivered undetected. Department of Correction policies generally prohibit inmates from receiving original materials through incoming mail, with an exception for legal mail, which is inspected before delivery.

Investigators seized several sheets of paper containing PCP and synthetic cannabinoids, also known as "K2." Authorities estimated that a single sheet could be worth as much as $80,000 inside a prison.

Intercepted jail calls revealed that Hearns and his co-conspirators planned to introduce synthetic drugs into correctional facilities, according to prosecutors.

Hearns is currently serving a sentence of 19½ to 20 years for manslaughter. He was sentenced in 2014 for a 2010 shooting at the Columbus/Heath Street basketball courts that killed a 14-year-old and wounded a 15-year-old. According to prosecutors, the shooting occurred during a violent rivalry between H-Block members and Heath Street gang associates.

The broader investigation resulted in the seizure of more than 500 grams of cocaine, crack cocaine, and fentanyl, along with more than 20,000 doses of drug-laced paper. Hearns is the 10th and final defendant to plead guilty in the case.

The drug conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled his sentencing for Feb. 2, 2027.