Brockton Man Gets Prison Time for Trafficking Fentanyl

From the U.S. Attorney's Office:

A Brockton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for trafficking fentanyl and possession of a firearm.

Luis DaCosta, 23, aka “Jesse” and “Slu," was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 106 months in prison and five years of supervised release, during which time he will be prohibited from associating with his co-conspirators and certain other Brockton gang members. DaCosta is subject to immigration proceedings, including deportation, after serving his sentence.

In January 2017, DaCosta pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. In April 2016, DaCosta was arrested and charged in a criminal complaint, and in May 2016, he and six others were indicted on drug and firearm-related charges.

On numerous occasions from December 2015 to March 2016, DaCosta sold fentanyl in the Brockton area. On April 5, 2016, law enforcement seized a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun and more than 30 grams of fentanyl from the hotel room in which DaCosta and co-defendant Seidica Monteiro were staying. According to court documents, DaCosta has a violent history and gang associations. Specifically, DaCosta had been released on bail from Rhode Island state court after he allegedly shot a person on March 19, 2016. In addition, in February 2016, DaCosta sold fentanyl to a person that overdosed, but later recovered.

Monteiro pleaded guilty in January 20127 and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10, 2017.

This case was brought as part of the federal response to the opioid abuse epidemic in Massachusetts. Fentanyl is a powerful synthetic opiate that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, and is responsible for the increased number of overdose deaths in Massachusetts. In 2016, 75 percent of those who unintentionally overdosed had fentanyl in their systems, an increase of nearly 25 percent from the prior year.

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