Brockton Man Sentenced for Narcotics Distribution and Firearm Possession

BOSTON – A Brockton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for cocaine distribution and illegal firearm possession.

Raul Robles, 30, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock to 48 months in prison and six years of supervised release. In November 2019, Robles pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of cocaine, one count of possession with intent to distribute of cocaine, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

In May 2018, an undercover officer made a controlled purchase of cocaine from Robles.  In June of 2018, during the execution of an arrest warrant at Robles’s home in Brockton, law enforcement seized approximately 30 grams of cocaine, a Glock, Model 23, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and nine (9) rounds of .40 caliber ammunition. In 2012, Robles was convicted of possession with intent to distribute heroin, and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm.

This case was part of Operation Landshark, a federal investigation that targeted impact players and repeat offenders in Brockton and Boston who have prior convictions for acts of violence, firearm offenses and/or drug trafficking.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz; Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins; Boston Police Commissioner William G. Gross; and Acting Brockton Police Chief Emanuel Gomes made the announcement. The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force and Southeastern Massachusetts Gang Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Plymouth and Essex County Sheriff’s Offices; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; U.S. Parole Commission; U.S. Postal Inspection Services; and the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Soivilien of Lelling’s Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

Operation Landshark is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.