A Revere man's fate is sealed with a five-year prison sentence after being caught with drugs and a gun. The 24-year-old Cesar Rivera was sentenced yesterday for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl and receiving a firearm while under indictment for felony charges, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
U.S District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns handed down the sentence following Rivera's guilty plea in December 2022. Found packing nearly 30 grams of crack cocaine, fentanyl, and a Glock at a Malden carwash, Rivera was swiftly arrested on December 22, 2020. After failing to respond to court summonses or appearing in court for more than a year, he was wanted on outstanding warrants related to multiple state gun cases.
The firearm recovered at Rivera's arrest two years ago was identified through a ballistics examination as the same one used in a terrifying October 2020 shootout. Rivera, along with associate Phillips Charles, were involved in a violent clash with a rival gang member and his family, including a one-year-old child, where at least seven rounds were shot into their vehicle at the Square One Mall in Saugus.
In the wake of Rivera's conviction, it's been revealed that his accomplice in the previous shooting incident, Charles, was sentenced in September 2022. As delivered by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, Charles, will spend 78 months behind bars, followed by four years of supervised release, having been dealt with by the justice system.
The successful prosecution of Rivera comes as part of a broader crackdown on organized crime. The case fell within the scope of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). This initiative brings together a collaborative law enforcement effort to undermine criminal organizations that pose a significant threat to the public. Among the agencies contributing to the announcement were the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Massachusetts State Police, and the Malden Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard, who specialized in organized crime and gang-related cases.
