DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Massachusetts

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Andrew E. Lelling
, United States Attorney
Contact: Christina DiIorio-Sterling

South Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Heroin and Fentanyl in Public Housing Development

BOSTON – A South Boston man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to distributing heroin and fentanyl.

Jomar Ventura, 24, pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for July 10, 2019. Ventura was arrested and charged in September 2018 and has been in custody since.

On March 19, March 28, April 24, and May 4, 2018, Ventura distributed heroin and fentanyl in and around the Mary Ellen McCormack public housing development in South Boston.

 The charge of distributing or possessing with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Kelly Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna Nuzum of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN is part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

 

Boston Field Division