South Boston Man Sentenced for Distributing Heroin and Fentanyl in Public Housing Developments

BOSTON – A South Boston man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for distributing heroin and fentanyl.

Jomar Ventura, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In April 2019, Ventura pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl.  

On four occasions between March and May 2018, Ventura distributed a total of over 44 grams of heroin and fentanyl to a cooperating witness in the Mary Ellen McCormack and Old Colony public housing developments in South Boston. Court-authorized recordings of each transaction and laboratory results confirmed that the drugs were heroin and fentanyl. Evidence presented in connection with sentencing hearing demonstrated that Ventura had been distributing heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine regularly for at least six months.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna Nuzum of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.