A Dominican national residing illegally in Lawrence, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to three years in prison for heroin distribution. Ranyel Reyes, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani and will face deportation proceedings after serving his sentence. The charges date back to 2014 when Reyes was arrested and indicted for selling heroin.
Reyes pleaded guilty in August 2015 to two counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin. He had sold or directed the sale of heroin on three occasions that year while on probation for a prior cocaine possession conviction. In total, he sold 74.6 grams of heroin to a confidential source.
After his arrest in 2014, Reyes was released on bond under pretrial conditions but later removed his location monitoring device and fled just days before his sentencing in December 2015. He remained at large until March 2025 when authorities found him living under a false identity as “Eric Yavier Rivera Velasquez” in Lawrence.
Reyes’ criminal history includes an arrest for assault and battery along with convictions for cocaine distribution and shoplifting.
The announcement was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. Assistance came from the United States Marshals Service, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Annapurna Balakrishna prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations threatening the United States through coordinated multi-agency efforts.
