Law enforcement discovered approximately 1,000 pounds of
marijuana and $688,000
BOSTON – An East
Longmeadow man was arrested on Friday, Feb. 8, 2019, and charged in federal
court in Springfield for marijuana trafficking.
John Americo Pereira, 33, was charged with possession with
intent to distribute marijuana. He appeared in federal court in Springfield
this afternoon and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing.
According to court documents, since January 2018, law
enforcement have been investigating Pereira and others for distributing
marijuana. A search warrant was executed on Feb. 8, 2019, at Pereira’s home
where agents discovered approximately $688,000 in a safe and 260 pounds of
suspected marijuana. Additional search warrants have been executed at locations
in East Longmeadow, Springfield and Ellington, Conn., where law enforcement
have discovered, in total, more than 1,000 pounds of marijuana.
Pereira faces a sentence of no greater than 20 years in
prison, a minimum of three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release,
and a fine of $1 million. 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; Joseph R.
Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
Boston Field Office; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the
Massachusetts State Police; and Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of
Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil L. Desroches of Lelling’s Springfield Branch Office
and Trial Attorney Marianne Shelvey, of the U.S. Department of Justice,
Criminal Division, Organized Crime and Gang Section, are prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging document are
allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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