Dominican National Sentenced for Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

BOSTON – A Dominican national who previously resided in Boston was sentenced today in federal court for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, oxycodone and cocaine.

Yonatan Lara, 35, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 21 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Lara will be deported upon completion of his sentence. In June 2020, Lara pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, oxycodone and marijuana. Lara has been in custody since he was arrested on May 30, 2019.

In 2018, a federal and state investigation into the members of a drug trafficking organization in and around the Boston area revealed that Jose Perez Felix, a/k/a “Eugenio Piedraita-Rivera,” a/k/a “Roberto Patricio Ramirez,” a/k/a “Grande,” allegedly distributed large quantities of narcotics, including heroin, fentanyl and cocaine from a base of operations in Boston. Lara and, allegedly, Perez Felix used a 2008 black Subaru Outback, registered to Lara, to distribute narcotics. Federal agents observed Lara and, allegedly, Perez Felix take “meaningless” rides in the Subaru – essentially driving the car around the block or a short distance as a means of shielding their transactions from law enforcement – and saw Lara use the Subaru to distribute narcotics to street-level dealers and users. Agents intercepted Lara and, allegedly, Perez Felix discussing the acquisition and distribution of oxycodone pills. Over the course of the investigation, agents seized oxycodone and fentanyl pills from Lara after two street-level sales.

Perez Felix has pleaded not guilty.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Shea, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes; Boston Police Commissioner William Gross; John Gibbons, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; and Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Alathea Porter of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting 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.