Dorchester Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm and Narcotics Charges

BOSTON – A Dorchester man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a wide-ranging operation that distributed heroin and fentanyl throughout Cape Cod.

James Ramirez, 55, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and 400 grams or more of fentanyl. Ramirez also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for March 8, 2018.

Ramirez was one of four defendants arrested as part of a drug ring that shipped large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and heroin from Boston to Cape Cod, where it was then redistributed. Ramirez and alleged co-defendant Kelvin Chalas, a/k/a Jose Solivan, supplied drugs to Alex and Kevin Fraga, brothers located on Cape Cod. On Aug. 16, 2017, Kevin and Alex Fraga were arrested by federal investigators after large quantities of fentanyl, heroin and cocaine were seized. Approximately one week later, Chalas and Ramirez were arrested, and law enforcement seized fentanyl pills and powdered fentanyl from a drug stash house in Dorchester, Ramirez’s home in Dorchester, and a safety deposit box at Santander Bank in Dorchester. 

Kevin and Alex Fraga have pleaded guilty and are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 24, 2018, and Feb. 8, 2018, respectively. Chalas has been indicted by a federal grand jury.

The drug charge provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and up to life in prison, 10 years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The firearms charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb; Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe made the announcement today. The investigation was led by the DEA Cape Cod Resident Office and the Massachusetts State Police - Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office in conjunction with the Brewster, Harwich, Sandwich, Mashpee, Chatham, Yarmouth, and Barnstable Police Departments and the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Rosen of Weinreb’s Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.