Dominican National Sentenced for Role in Taunton Drug Ring

BOSTON — A Dominican national pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a drug trafficking organization that operated in Taunton and Boston.

Yeurys Tejeda, 29, a Dominican national formerly residing in Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. In February 2017, Tejeda was arrested and charged along with 22 co-defendants. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for July 10, 2018.

From mid-2016 through February 2017, federal law enforcement investigated two drug trafficking organizations operating in Taunton and Boston, one led by Jose Antonio Lugo-Guerrero, and the other led by Fernando Hernandez. Hernandez’s organization was based in Taunton and sold heroin and fentanyl to customers who re-distributed a portion of the drugs they obtained. It is alleged that Hernandez obtained drugs from a network of suppliers that included Lugo-Guerrero.

According to court documents, Lugo-Guerrero operated a drug trafficking organization in Fall River and Boston that allegedly obtained a significant quantity of illegal drugs by robbing other drug traffickers. Lugo-Guerrero was assisted by co-defendants Wilmi Hernandez-Diaz, Jancer Soto, Juan Morales-Ortiz, Isis Y. Lugo-Guerrero, Jose Negron, Glendalee Rodriguez, Jose Camacho, and Tejeda. Tejeda helped Lugo-Guerrero plan and attempt to rob another drug dealer, and Lugo-Guerrero offered to supply Tejeda with drugs, including cocaine.

Hernandez pleaded guilty and was sentenced in February 2018 to 188 months in prison. Hernandez-Diaz and Morales-Ortiz pleaded guilty and were each sentenced in January 2018 to 30 months in prison. Soto also pleaded guilty and was sentenced in March to five years of probation. Camacho and Rodriguez pleaded guilty in March 2018 and are scheduled to be sentenced, respectively, on June 15 and June 12, 2018. Jose Antonio Lugo-Guerrero, Isis Y Lugo-Guerrero, and Negron have pleaded not guilty.

The conspiracy charge provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Michael Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Fall River Police Chief Daniel S. Racine; New Bedford Police Chief Joseph C. Cordeiro; Taunton Police Chief Edward James Walsh; Boston Police Commissioner William B. Evans; and Bristol Country District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Heinrich of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

--U.S. Attorney's Office