Man guilty of distributing fentanyl and carfentanil to Fall River, Brockton, eastern MA, sentenced to prison

BOSTON – A Braintree man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and carfentanil.

David Fernandes, 33, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay a fine of $1,000.

From May 2019 through August 2019, David Fernandes and co-defendants Rickey Depina, Keanu Fernandes and Viviana Fontes conspired to distribute fentanyl and carfentanil in Brockton, Abington, Boston, Braintree, Easton, Fall River, Holbrook, Norton, Quincy, Raynham, South Easton, West Bridgewater and Whitman. During this time, law enforcement made controlled purchases of fentanyl and carfentanil on multiple occasions. On Oct. 1, 2018, law enforcement stopped a car in which David Fernandes, Depina and Fontes were traveling and recovered over 17 grams of fentanyl, approximately $1,750 and four cellular phones. They were arrested on state charges. In search warrants executed later that day, law enforcement recovered another $10,000.

Co-defendants Depina, 32, of Brockton; Keanu Fernandes, 33, of Brockton; and Fontes, 30, of Brockton, previously pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. On Sept. 20, 2020, Depina was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On Jan. 12, 2021, Keanue Fernandes was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and three years of supervised release. Fontes has yet to be sentenced.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, carfentanil is an analog of fentanyl and approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. It is used commercially in tranquilizer darts for large mammals such as elk or elephants and can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Moran and Nicholas Soivilien of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

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