Charlestown Man Sentenced for Distributing Fentanyl in Chelsea

A Charlestown man was sentenced Oct. 17 at federal court in Boston for distributing fentanyl out of a Chelsea apartment. 

Cruz Villar, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to three years in prison and five years of supervised release. In June 2019, Villar pleaded guilty to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

On June 22, 2018, Villar was observed by law enforcement in a hand-to-hand sale of fentanyl to a customer in a parking lot in Dorchester. After the sale, agents recovered approximately 11 grams of fentanyl from the customer and approximately $1,446 in cash from Villar. A subsequent search of an apartment in Chelsea that Villar had been renting—but in which he had not been residing— resulted in the recovery of approximately 87.4 additional grams of fentanyl, along with components of a drug press, a digital scale, two blenders, bottles of a cutting agent, and packaging materials, including plastic wrap and plastic baggies. In addition, Villar made regular trips from the Chelsea apartment to an address in Mashpee in a manner consistent with the distribution of narcotics.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Pérez‑Daple of Lelling’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

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