Lawrence Kingpin Jerri Martinez-Tejeda Gets 24+ Years for Fentanyl Flood

Jerri Martinez-Tejeda, 32, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, is headed to federal prison for 292 months — more than 24 years — after being sentenced for flooding the Northeast with fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine while orchestrating a violent drug trafficking empire with international ties. The ringleader of a sprawling narcotics network, Martinez-Tejeda imported deadly drugs from Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and beyond, turning Lawrence into a distribution hub for poison that killed and addicted countless users.

On October 24, 2016, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Patti B. Saris handed down the sentence, which includes three years of supervised release and a $400,000 fine. Martinez-Tejeda had pleaded guilty in June 2016 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine; conspiracy to launder money; and unlawful reentry of a deported alien — a stark reminder that U.S. immigration violations often intersect with violent criminal enterprise.

During a three-day sentencing hearing, federal prosecutors laid bare the cold calculus of Martinez-Tejeda’s operation. He arranged the transport of nine kilograms of fentanyl — enough to kill hundreds of thousands — from California to Massachusetts. When the shipment was intercepted by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Martinez-Tejeda didn’t panic. He suspected betrayal. So he ordered an enforcer to fly to Oklahoma, kidnap the couriers, and torture them until they confessed. Only federal intervention stopped the brutal retaliation.

The court also heard that Martinez-Tejeda laundered at least $1.1 million over just five and a half months, funneling drug profits through a shadow financial system. At the moment of his arrest on July 12, 2015, agents stormed his Lawrence home to find over $500,000 in cash being counted and packed for shipment to his Mexican supplier. The house was a narcotics factory floor — stocked with electronic scales, grinders, a hydraulic kilo press, ledgers detailing transactions, and two loaded handguns.

“This was not a corner-level dealer,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz at a press briefing following the sentencing. “Martinez-Tejeda ran a sophisticated, transnational drug enterprise that endangered entire communities.” Michael J. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s Boston Field Division, echoed the sentiment, calling the case a “critical blow” to a cartel-linked network spreading death across New England.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Kanwit of Ortiz’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case, weaving wiretaps, financial records, and witness testimony into an airtight conviction. The sentence reflects the federal government’s crackdown on fentanyl traffickers as the opioid crisis continues to ravage Massachusetts and the nation. For Jerri Martinez-Tejeda, the price of empire-building in blood and powder is 292 months behind bars — and a lifetime of consequences.