Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Two Springfield Men Plead Guilty to Federal Firearms and Drug Charges
BOSTON - Two Springfield men pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield to federal drug and firearms offenses.
Alexis Ayala, 40, and Wilfredo Perez, 38, each pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin. Ayala also pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled their sentencings for Aug. 14, 2018.
On April 5, 2015, Perez and Ayala distributed 200 doses of heroin, worth $550, to a government witness in the area of 122 Central Street in Springfield. Ayala, a previously convicted felon, also sold two firearms to a government witness. Specifically, on Dec. 15, 2015, Ayala sold the witness a Walther P22 pistol equipped with a laser sight, which had been reported stolen to the Springfield Police on Sept. 4, 2014; and on Aug. 8, 2016, Ayala sold the witness a Smith and Wesson MP40c .40 caliber pistol.
The charge of distributing heroin provides for a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, a minimum of three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Mickey D. Leadingham, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri; and Holyoke Police Chief James Neiswanger made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.