Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
Just the other day Boston, Massachusetts police arrested Amando Avila, a thirty four man from Newton, Massachusetts. The charges, trafficking more than two hundred grams of heroin. It is alleged that Avila tried to sell two kilograms of pure heroin to an undercover police officer. According to reports Avila’s overall role in heroin trafficking is unknown at this time. He will however stand charged with trafficking and a school zone violation in Suffolk County. The case will no doubt be indicted by a grand jury and prosecuted in the Suffolk County Superior Court.
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Boston Massachusetts Police Make Heroin Arrest, Man Charged With Trafficking, School Zone Violation
Trafficking heroin over 200 grams in Massachusetts is a felony punishable by a minimum mandatory 15 year state prison sentence. The school zone adds another minimum mandatory 2 years to the sentence. If convicted of these charges Avila will have to serve 17 years in a Massachusetts state prison. Here are some of the problems he faces in terms of defending this case. The quantity of heroin is enormous by Massachusetts standards. Two kilo heroin cases are not common in this state. The purity is a major issue. The Boston Police claim that the street value of this seizure is over two hundred thousand dollars. The greater the purity the more likely the substance will be diluted prior to distribution so that the profits of the drug dealers increase. The final street product of the heroin seized would be substantial. It would end up serving a great number of heroin users by the time it was ultimately cut up and sold. Hand to hand sales to undercover officers are very difficult to defend. When these cases are won they are usually done so through motions to suppress. At trial, the only defenses to cases such as this are duress or entrapment. Avila’s lawyers have lots of work ahead of them.
Attorney Stephen Neyman is a Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer with over twenty years defending drug cases. He has successfully defended major drug cases using the defenses of duress and entrapment. If you have been charged with a Drug Crime in Massachusetts call our office now at 617-263-6800 or contact us online.