Brockton Man Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison for Illegally Receiving a Firearm, Distributing Fentanyl and Possessing Cocaine

BOSTON - A Brockton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston to firearm, cocaine, fentanyl and conspiracy offenses.

Antonio Denziah Fernandes, 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 78 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. In September 2024, Fernandes pleaded guilty to two counts of illegally receiving a firearm while under indictment, two counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and cocaine, and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. In September 2023, Fernandes was indicted by a federal grand jury and on Sept. 11, 2024, additional charges were brought in a Superseding Information.

In late 2021, law enforcement learned that Fernandes was trafficking firearms and narcotics in the Brockton area, including large quantities of fentanyl. In January 2022, while under indictment in state court for trafficking more than 10 grams of fentanyl, Fernandes received and sold a Glock Model 48, 9mm pistol for $1,700 in the Taunton area. In each of two subsequent transactions in January and February 2022, Fernandes distributed and possessed with intent to distribute approximately 50 grams of fentanyl, for a total of approximately 100 grams. These two transactions took place in the vicinity of Fernandes's Brockton residence.

Fernandes and a co-conspirator were storing and packaging narcotics in an abandoned van parked outside Fernandes residence and distributing them with a different vehicle. Fernandes was arrested in the passenger seat of the latter vehicle, and a loaded firearm was found wedged against his seat. Fernandes had 2.8g of fentanyl and $1,215 in cash on his person.

During a search of the abandoned vehicle, large quantity of drugs was found inside including approximately 174.7 grams of Fentanyl, 51.5 grams of cocaine, 18.2 grams of Percocet pills and eight grams of mushrooms. Twenty-seven rounds of 9mm ammunition was also recovered. The van also contained various packaging materials for narcotics, such as plastic baggies, corner cut bags, a trash bag full of various used drug packaging materials with white residue, mixing bowls with white residue and latex gloves.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy 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 Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office; the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office; and the Brockton, Taunton, Whitman, West Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Bridgewater and Bridgewater State University Police Departments; the Drug Enforcement Administration; and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Meghan C. Cleary of the Criminal Division 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 gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.