Former Corrections Officer Sentenced To Probation For Attempting To Smuggle Narcotics Into Prison
Defendant was involved in multistate cocaine and fentanyl conspiracy
BOSTON – A former Corrections Officer was sentenced to probation in federal court in Boston for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy involving cocaine, fentanyl and other controlled substances.
Gregorit Sanchez, 29, of Haverhill was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to five years’ probation with the first year to be served on home detention. The court determined that Sanchez’s Guidelines Sentencing Range under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines was 30-37 months in prison. The government recommended a sentence of 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In March 2024, Sanchez pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and other controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and other controlled substances. In December 2021, Sanchez was charged along with 20 other individuals.
Sanchez was a Corrections Officer with the Middleton House of Correction in Middleton, Mass. On Nov. 11, 2021, Sanchez attempted to smuggle a package containing fentanyl, cocaine, Suboxone and other contraband into the Middleton House of Correction for co-defendant Elvis DeJesus, who was being held in the Middleton House of Correction after his arrest on state firearms charges. DeJesus intended to distribute the drugs inside the jail. Sanchez was stopped as he arrived to work at the jail and the package was seized. The package contained 33 grams of fentanyl pills, 1 gram of crack cocaine, 14 grams of powder cocaine, and Suboxone sublingual films, as well as cigarettes and a SIM card for a contraband cellphone that Sanchez had previously procured for DeJesus and that DeJesus used to coordinate drug distribution from inside the jail.
DeJesus pleaded guilty in June 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15, 2024.
The charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine and other controlled substances, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, cocaine, and other controlled substances provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Office made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Lawrence Police Department; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; Federal Bureau of Investigations; and Essex County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson, Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
