Roslindale Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Firearm Offense

BOSTON - A Heath Street Gang member/associate involved in a shooting in residential neighborhood was sentenced on Sept. 6, 2024 in federal court in Boston for unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Deondre Blanding, 27, of Roslindale, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to five years in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. In May 2024, Blanding pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Blanding was charged and arrested in February 2024, along with over 40 alleged Heath Street Gang members/associates, who were charged with racketeering conspiracy, drug trafficking, firearms and financial fraud charges. Blanding was a marijuana dealer for the Gang who distributed pound-quantity amounts of marijuana.

On Oct. 8, 2023, Blanding arranged to buy three pounds of marijuana from an individual and arrived at the deal armed with a firearm. The arranged drug deal resulted in a shooting in the middle of a Randolph neighborhood involving Blanding and two other individuals.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Randolph Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Crowley and Sarah Hoefle of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.