Rhode Island Man Who Sold More Than 7,000 Fentanyl-Laced Pills Sentenced to Federal Prison
GoLocalProv News Team
Rhode Island Man Who Sold More Than 7,000 Fentanyl-Laced Pills Sentenced to Federal Prison
Keurys Pena, 35, of North Providence was sentenced this week by U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., to 72 months of incarceration to be followed by four years of federal supervised release.
Pena pleaded guilty on August 1, 2024, to possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime.
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About Case
According to information presented to the court, on eight occasions between June and October 2022, while under law enforcement surveillance, Pena sold and delivered 7,080 fentanyl-laced pills weighing a combined total of approximately 876 grams, or roughly two pounds. During a transaction on September 7, 2022, Pena also sold an individual a firearm in exchange for a cash payment. The drugs and the firearm were quickly seized by members of law enforcement following each transaction.
Pena was arrested at his North Providence residence on October 18, 2022, and was found to be in possession of 5.38 grams of cocaine, 11.89 grams of a powder mixture containing fentanyl, and 22.84 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine. On that same date, a court-authorized search warrant was executed at a stash house/rental property maintained by Pena in Pawtucket where law enforcement seized a powder substance containing 484.12 grams of fentanyl and a mixture containing 108.6 grams of methamphetamine.
Court records illustrate that Pena was previously convicted multiple times and sentenced on drug, conspiracy, forgery and breaking and entering charges.
At the time of his arrest in this most recent matter, Pena was serving a term of Rhode Island state probation, having been convicted in Rhode Island Superior Court in 2015 on charges of assault and escape by an inmate. He was sentenced to 12 years – with 15 months to serve, 165 months suspended with probation.