Dominican National Sentenced for Drug Conspiracy
BOSTON – A Dominican national was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a drug trafficking organization that operated in Taunton and Boston.
Yeurys Tejeda, 29, a Dominican national formerly residing in Boston, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to time served (15 months in prison) and three years of supervised release. Tejeda will be subject to deportation proceedings. In April 2018, Tejeda pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. In February 2017, Tejeda was arrested and charged along with 22 co-defendants.
From mid-2016 through February 2017, there were investigations into two drug trafficking organizations who were operating in Taunton and Boston, one led by Jose Antonio Lugo-Guerrero, and the other led by Fernando Hernandez. Hernandez’s organization was based in Taunton and sold heroin and fentanyl to customers who re-distributed a portion of the drugs they obtained. It is alleged that Hernandez obtained drugs from a network of suppliers that included Lugo-Guerrero.
According to court documents, Lugo-Guerrero operated a drug trafficking organization in Fall River and Boston that allegedly obtained a significant quantity of illegal drugs by robbing other drug traffickers. Lugo-Guerrero was assisted by a number of co-defendants including Tejeda. In November of 2016, Tejeda helped Lugo-Guerrero plan and attempt to steal heroin and money from another drug dealer operating in New Bedford. The plan was revealed by wiretaps and surveillance and foiled by law enforcement.
Hernandez pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 2018 to 188 months in prison. Lugo-Guerrero has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Fall River Police Chief Daniel S. Racine; New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro; Taunton Police Chief Edward James Walsh; Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans; and Bristol Country District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Heinrich of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.