A Lawrence man, Melvin Antonio Perez Medina, 33, has been sentenced to over five years in federal prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to traffic a substantial quantity of the lethal drug fentanyl. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office statement from federal prosecutors, U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV sentenced Perez Medina to 64 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release.
In October of last year, Perez Medina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue; in addition, two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue, and one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue were admitted to by the defendant.
The investigation unfolded between March 2022 and August 2022, when Perez Medina and his alleged co-conspirators, Fraily Rodriguez Morillo and Manuel Fredis Guerrero Guzman, were accused of operating a fentanyl distribution network throughout Lawrence, Woburn, Wilmington, and Andover areas. Perez Medina was caught in the act of distributing fentanyl and a fentanyl analogue on three distinct occasions during the summer of 2022, and at the time of his arrest in August of that year, he was discovered with nearly two kilograms of a mixture containing fentanyl and its analogue, craftily concealed within a cereal box.
In addition to detailing Perez Medina's sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that in total, he was responsible to have been distributing and attempting to distribute over 900 grams of fentanyl and over 2.5 kilograms of a fentanyl analogue. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy along with law enforcement leaders, the collaborative efforts that led to the conviction—a result of the work of not only the FBI and DEA but also the Massachusetts State Police, and several local police departments.
The U.S Attorney's Office statement clarified that the charges brought against Perez Medina's alleged co-conspirators are still allegations and the accused individuals remain presumed innocent until proven guilty. The case against Perez Medina was a part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation, which focuses on dismantling the most serious criminal organizations impacting the United States. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of the Criminal Division.
