New Bedford Gym Owner Could Plead Guilty in Major Drug Ring Case

The owner of a New Bedford gym will likely plead guilty to charges that he helped move mass quantities of heroin throughout the New Bedford area.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says 39-year-old Sharik Mendes, the owner of H.E.A.R.T. Boxing Gym, has been charged by information with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin.

The charge by information is typically reserved for defendants who are expected to enter a guilty plea.

Prosecutors say Sharik was a cog in the wheel of a large-scale drug ring operating in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts, with heroin coming into the area from providence and cocaine being shipped to New Bedford and Fall River from Puerto Rico. Eight other individuals are charged.

Mendes could face up to 40 years in prison, though the U.S. Attorney's Office says actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.