Man Convicted of Drug Trafficking, Faces State Murder Charges

BOSTON—A former Brockton resident awaiting trial on state murder charges was convicted of drug trafficking in federal court today after a five-day trial.

RODNEY GURLEY, 27, currently of West Bridgewater, was convicted of possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.

During the trial, prosecutors presented testimony regarding a search warrant executed in November 2009 at a residence on Walnut Avenue in Brockton. During the execution of the warrant, Gurley was found in possession of over $6,000 worth of crack cocaine ready for distribution, plastic baggies commonly used for street level drug sales, two cell phones, over $1,500, two digital scales, and a large knife. Law enforcement found Gurley in a bedroom containing several pictures of his brother, Jose Gurley, who was murdered in 2007. (Andre Brewer, 22, of Dorchester, has been charged with the murder of Jose Gurley. The case is pending in Brockton Superior Court.)

After Gurley was charged in federal court with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, a Plymouth County Grand Jury indicted Gurley for his role in the July 2007 murder of Gregory Goncalves, Jr. Goncalves was shot 15 times while sitting in the passenger seat of a car in a driveway on Hunt Street in Brockton. At his murder arraignment, prosecutors from the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office alleged Gurley hired John Monteiro to kill Goncalves, believing him to be responsible for the murder of his uncle, Shane Gurley, who was killed in 2001. Gurley’s murder case is still pending in state court.

Gurley will be sentenced in federal court by U.S. District Judge William G. Young on Oct. 20. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison to be followed by at least three years of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Brockton Police Chief William Conlon; Colonel Marian J. McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Timothy J. Cruz, Plymouth County District Attorney, made the announcement today. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force, the Brockton Police Department, and the Massachusetts State Police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Glenn MacKinlay of Ortiz’s Organized Crime Strike Force Unit.