Brockton Man Sentenced for Fentanyl Distribution

BOSTON – A Brockton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for fentanyl distribution.

Tequan Brown, a/k/a “Purp,” 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release. In February 2019, Brown pleaded guilty to distributing fentanyl.

Brown was responsible for distributing 2.28 grams of fentanyl in May 2018.

This case was part of Operation Landshark, a federal investigation that targeted impact players and repeat offenders in Brockton and Boston, each of whom had prior convictions for acts of violence, firearm offenses, and/or drug trafficking. It is alleged that many of the Operation Landshark targets are among the top 30 criminal offenders responsible for violent acts and firearms in Brockton.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Kerry A. Gilpin, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins; Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross; and Brockton Police Chief John Crowley made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force and Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Plymouth and Essex County Sheriff’s Offices; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; U.S. Parole Commission; U.S. Postal Inspection Services; and the U.S. Secret Service.

Operation Landshark 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. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as 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.