A notorious drug dealer who exploited people at a Boston homeless shelter by selling them narcotics has been put behind bars for 13 years, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced. Jay O. Candelario, 43, received his sentence after being convicted on a slew of gun and drug charges, including trafficking fentanyl and possession of cocaine and suboxone with intent to distribute.
According to Boston 25 News, officers from the Boston Area C-6 Drug Control Unit nabbed Candelario of Lowell on February 13, 2021, as he operated in the comfort area established by the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program, next to the Southampton Street Shelter. They caught him red-handed with more than 100 grams of fentanyl, cocaine, suboxone, a .40-caliber pistol with a large-capacity magazine, and over $3,500 in cash.
Hayden's condemnation of Candelario was harsh and clear. "This was an impact drug dealer in Mass and Cass who came from outside of Boston to prey upon the vulnerable people in the area," Hayden said, suggesting an acute awareness of the dealer's cynical use of a sanctuary space to peddle dangerous substances.
The sentence handed down by Judge Mark Hallal consisted of eight years for the drug and firearm offenses, followed by an additional five years for possessing a firearm during the commission of a felony. Hayden emphasized his office's dual-strategy approach, leading to the 2022 launch of Services Over Sentences, a program aimed to help minor offenders, with funding including an additional $1 million from the Massachusetts Legislature, as explained in a Boston Globe article.
This program is a juxtaposition to the district attorney's focus on taking down major criminals like Candelario, who "was a major presence at Mass and Cass when the area was at its peak population point," according to Hayden. The initiative represents a targeted effort to dismantle the cyclical nexus of crime that plagues areas like Mass and Cass, wherein dealers once capitalized on hardship, imposing their toxic wares upon those least capable of affording them another hit to their already precarious existences.
