Man caught with hundreds of fentanyl pills disguised as Perc in Brockton gets 2 years

BROCKTON — A Boston man was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release for possessing hundreds of fentanyl pills disguised as prescription-grade oxycodone intended for distribution, the Justice Department said.

The defendant, Diamondez Pierre, now 24, was stopped and searched in his vehicle by law enforcement at a traffic stop in Brockton on Aug. 8, 2020.

Police recovered a .38 revolver stolen out of New Hampshire, about 30 grams of fentanyl and more than one-and-a-half pounds of marijuana from Pierre's vehicle.

Pierre was charged with carrying a firearm without a license for second offense, unlawful possession of ammunition, possession with intent to distribute a Class D drug, receiving stolen property and receiving a gun with a defaced serial number, The Enterprise reported at the time.

During the 2020 traffic stop for speeding, the police also found a backpack which contained "204 blue-pressed fentanyl pills, disguised as Perc 30 oxycodone pills, intended for distribution," the statement from United States District Attorney Rachael Rollins said.

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Pierre pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute in March 2021 and was sentenced on July 21, 2022.

“The impact of the opioid crisis in our communities has been catastrophic. It is taking more and more lives by the minute. Mr. Pierre contributed to and, moreover, profited off this devastation, pain and suffering by trafficking fentanyl disguised as pharmaceutical grade prescription pills,” said United States Attorney for Massachusetts Rachael S. Rollins.

“To say fentanyl is dangerous would be a gross understatement — it is deadly. Getting fentanyl traffickers who seek to exploit addiction for a profit off of our streets is critical and mandatory in addressing the opioid epidemic," she said.

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Opioid fatalities spike in Brockton in 2021

In 2021, the opioid-related overdose death rate in the state increased to 32.6 per 100,000 people as compared to 29.9 per 100,000 in the previous year, according to data provided by the Massachusetts Department of Health.

State data shows there were 56 fatal overdose deaths in 2021 in Brockton, eight more deaths than what was seen in 2020 and higher than any other year between 2015 and 2021.

According to the state's health department, there were 2,290 confirmed and estimated opioid-related overdose deaths in 2021 in Massachusetts, an estimated 185 more deaths than the prior year.

Fentanyl's fatal fallout

Toxicology screenings found fentanyl in 93% of these deaths, the highest amount of any opioid.

In fact, since 2016, the state has seen a 1% increase per quarter in the presence of fentanyl, including during the pre-pandemic period from 2017 to 2019 when opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts were on the decline, according to the Department of Public Health.

“We are currently facing a crisis with the amount of illicit drugs flowing into our neighborhoods, today’s sentencing demonstrates that if you peddle this poison, you will be held accountable,” said James Ferguson, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The Enterprise was unable to reach Plymouth County Outreach — a coalition of all of the police departments in the county who are working towards harm reduction for those with substance abuse disorders — for a comment on fentanyl-related overdoses in Brockton specifically.

U.S. Attorney Rollins, ATF SAC Ferguson and Brockton Police Chief Brenda Perez made the announcement Monday morning. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley Jr. of Rollins’ Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

With reporting by Corlyn Voorhees.

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This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton fentanyl pills: Diamondez Pierre of Boston sentenced