Two New Bedford Men Sentenced for Heroin Trafficking

BOSTON — Two New Bedford residents were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for their roles in a wide-ranging conspiracy that distributed heroin throughout Bristol County and Providence, RI.

Eric DeSousa, 26, and Tyson DePina, 40, were sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to three years in prison and four years of supervised release and six years in prison and four years of supervised release, respectively. In April 2017, DeSousa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin and three counts of possession of heroin with the intent to distribute; and DePina pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin and three counts of possession of heroin with the intent to distribute.

In the spring of 2016, DePina began receiving heroin from DeSousa. On April 14, 2016, investigators watched DeSousa distribute heroin to DePina. DePina was arrested after the sale, but during the arrest process, DePina fled and attempted to destroy the drugs. An officer in pursuit of DePina became covered in the heroin that DePina attempted to destroy, and was taken to the hospital as a result. A subsequent lab test confirmed that the heroin seized from DePina was a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, a drug that is deadly to touch or inhale, and for which only two milligrams can be lethal.

On June 6, 2016, investigators watched as DeSousa attempted to deliver heroin to a customer in New Bedford. DeSousa was arrested, and a search of his home in New Bedford resulted in the seizure of nearly 300 grams of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl and more than $8,000 in cash.

According to court documents, DePina had been receiving heroin from former New Bedford gym owner Sharik Mendes, who was sentenced in federal court for heroin trafficking in January.