New Bedford Man Sentenced for Repeated Dealing of Opiates

FALL RIVER — A 40-year-old New Bedford man, twice arrested for dealing opiates in the region, was sentenced to serve at least two-and-a-half years in state prison last Friday, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced.

Henry Barbosa pleaded guilty to separate indictments, charging him with two counts of possession of a Class B drug (oxycodone) with intent to distribute, subsequent offense.

On May 30, 2013 at around 1 p.m., a Massachusetts State Trooper stopped the defendant’s vehicle on Route 195 in Westport, after noticing the Acura the defendant was driving had no valid inspection sticker. After the motor vehicle was stopped and confronted by the trooper, it was also determined he was driving with an expired license. The defendant was placed under arrest, and a subsequent search of his person revealed a white pill bottle with no name or label on it. Inside the bottle were 55 oxycodone pills. The defendant also had $7,000 in cash in his pocket.

Then on February 12, 2014, after an extensive investigation by New Bedford Police into the sale of oxycodone in the city, police obtained a surveillance warrant. While surveilling the defendant, police witnessed a hand-to-hand transaction in a supermarket parking lot. The defendant was immediately arrested and found to be in possession of 55 Percocet pills and nearly $3,000 in cash. A subsequent search of the defendant’s residence revealed another $12,000 in cash, and a box with six separate bags containing more than 500 pills of oxycodone.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jeanne Veenstra. Judge Thomas McGuire sentenced Barbosa to a state prison sentence of two-and-a-half years, to two-and-a-half-years plus one day. Barbosa was also placed on probation for two years, to commence upon the date of his release from prison.

More than $14,000 of the defendant’s drug proceeds have been forfeited civilly.

“This is a defendant, at the age of 40, who has made huge profits off of individuals who are addicted to opiates,” District Attorney Quinn said. “The state prison sentence and forfeiture of his ill-gotten cash holds him accountable.”

--Bristol County District Attorney's Office