New Bedford Heroin Trafficker Sentenced to State Prison

NEW BEDFORD — A New Bedford heroin trafficker, who is also awaiting trial on a pending non-fatal shooting case was sentenced to serve up to four-and-a-half years in state prison last week.

The Bristol County District Attorney's Office announced Joshua Perry, 26, of New Bedford pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court to an indictment charging him with trafficking in excess of 18 grams of heroin.

On September 18, 2017, detectives from the New Bedford Police Department executed a search warrant on 16 Roosevelt Street, Apartment 3. Perry was the target of the warrant and was observed by police leaving his apartment and entering his vehicle. Perry was immediately stopped by the police and escorted back to his residence.

Officers searched Perry and found 5.1 grams of heroin/fentanyl in his sock in two different bags. While searching Perry's apartment, officers found 71.7 grams of heroin/ fentanyl inside of a planter. Both sets of narcotics were tested and they were identical in heroin/fentanyl mix and both were cut with the same cutting agent. Also discovered were packaging materials, digital scales, and other indications of narcotics distribution.

While Perry was out on bail on the drug trafficking case, he was re-arrested in October 2018 in connection to an October 28, 2018 shooting involving two injured victims on County Street. In that case, Perry still faces indictments charging him with five counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of unlawful possession of a large-capacity firearm and one count of attempted assault and battery by means of a firearm. He is set to appear int he shooting case on November 25 for a pretrial conference.

“The defendant is profiting from selling a lethal mix of heroin and fentanyl. While out on bail, he was charged with a serious shooting. This defendant clearly is a danger to the community,” District Attorney Quinn said.