Plymouth County man sentenced to prison on drug trafficking and possession charges

BROCKTON – A Brockton man has been sentenced to state prison after he was convicted on drug charges, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has announced. 

On Friday, Brockton Superior Court Judge Robert Gordon sentenced 31-year-old Derek Depina, to serve 6 1⁄2 to 8 years in state prison, to be followed by two years of probation from and after. The Commonwealth had requested that Depina serve 9-10 years. 

On December 12th, after a 4-day trial, a jury convicted Depina, on one count of Trafficking in Fentanyl, 10 grams or more, and Possession of a Class B Substance, Cocaine. 

On January 3, 2022, Brockton Police executed a search warrant at a residential address associated with Depina. During the execution of the search warrant, police officers found 12 grams of suspected fentanyl on Depina’s person, as well as $647. A search of a car yielded a bag containing 15 individually wrapped baggies of suspected crack cocaine. A search of the house and yard uncovered over 400 more grams of fentanyl. Depina was arrested and subsequently indicted on the charges. 

Assistant District Attorney Sharon Thibeault prosecuted Depina’s case, which was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office, the Brockton Police Department, and the Commonwealth Interstate Narcotics Enforcement Team.