Brockton Dealer Gets 30 Months for Deadly Fentanyl

BOSTON – Rickey Depina, 32, of Brockton, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced yesterday for his role in a ruthless fentanyl and carfentanil distribution network. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock handed down a 30-month sentence, along with three years of supervised release and a $1,000 fine, effectively taking a poison peddler off the streets.

The conspiracy, operating from May to August 2019, stretched across a dozen Massachusetts communities – Brockton, Abington, Boston, Braintree, Easton, Fall River, Holbrook, Norton, Quincy, Raynham, South Easton, West Bridgewater, and Whitman. Depina, along with co-defendants David Fernandes, Keanu Fernandes, and Viviana Fontes, flooded these areas with the deadly duo of fentanyl and the exponentially more potent carfentanil. Law enforcement wasn’t in the dark; they conducted multiple controlled purchases during the scheme’s run.

The bust started gaining traction on October 1, 2018, when a vehicle carrying Depina, David Fernandes, and Fontes was stopped by police. A search revealed over 17 grams of fentanyl, a staggering $1,750 in cash, and four cell phones – tools of the trade. They were initially arrested on state charges. Subsequent search warrants turned up even more dirty money – an additional $10,000, proving the operation’s lucrative, and lethal, nature.

This wasn’t a small-time operation. Carfentanil, a substance typically reserved for tranquilizing massive animals like elk and elephants, is a staggering 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times stronger than fentanyl. A dose as small as 2 milligrams can be fatal. The fact that Depina and his crew were dealing in this stuff demonstrates a blatant disregard for human life. Keanu Fernandes, 33, of Brockton, and Fontes, 30, of Brockton, have already pleaded guilty. David Fernandes, 33, of Braintree, is set to follow suit on September 28, 2020.

The takedown was a joint effort led by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling, alongside Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Field Division; Massachusetts State Police Colonel Christopher Mason; and Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Moran and Nicholas Soivilien from Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit are handling the prosecution. They’re building a case, piece by piece, against those who profit from misery and death.

This sentencing should serve as a warning: dealing in fentanyl and carfentanil won’t pay. It will land you in a cell, and contribute to the ongoing opioid crisis that’s tearing apart families and communities across Massachusetts and beyond. Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on the individuals who prey on the vulnerable.

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