A Dominican national residing unlawfully 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 completing his sentence. In August 2015, Reyes pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin.
Reyes’ criminal activities date back to 2014 when he sold or directed the sale of heroin on three occasions to a confidential source while on probation for a previous cocaine possession conviction. He was arrested in October 2014 and charged by criminal complaint before being indicted by a federal grand jury the following month.
After his arrest, Reyes was released on bond with pretrial conditions but later removed his location monitoring equipment and absconded from supervision days before his scheduled sentencing in December 2015. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to appear.
In 2025, authorities discovered that Reyes had been living under the alias “Eric Yavier Rivera Velasquez” in Lawrence to avoid capture. He was arrested on March 28, 2025, based on the outstanding warrant from 2015.
Reyes’ prior criminal record includes an arrest for assault and battery as well as convictions for cocaine distribution and shoplifting.
The announcement of Reyes’ sentencing was made by United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division. The United States Marshals Service provided valuable assistance in this case which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Annapurna Balakrishna of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit.
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation aimed at dismantling high-level criminal organizations through a coordinated multi-agency approach led by prosecutors.
