WOBURN – A Miami, Florida man was found guilty on charges that he supplied a Billerica-based drug organization with large volumes of Oxycontin and Xanax, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone informed the public today.
David DeStephan, 34, of Miami, Florida, was found guilty yesterday by a Middlesex Superior Court jury on charges of Trafficking in Oxycodone over 200 grams, Conspiracy to Traffick Oxycodone over 200 grams, Distribution of a Class E Substance and Conspiracy to Distribute a Class E Substance. Middlesex Superior Court Judge Garry Inge will sentence the defendant on Monday, October 17 at 9:00 a.m. DeStephan faces a minimum mandatory sentence of fifteen years in state prison on the charge of Trafficking over 200 grams of Oxycodone.
“We are pleased with the conviction of this defendant who was charged with the trafficking and distribution of illegal narcotics here in Massachusetts,” District Attorney Leone said. “Illegal drug use and drug trafficking are serious offenses that are often at the root of many additional and violent crimes. We will continue to aggressively investigate and prosecute these crimes, and I want to commend the work of the Billerica Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration for their collaboration and excellent work in this case. I also commend the jury for their just verdict today, ensuring that this defendant is held responsible for his illegal actions and taken off the street so that he cannot spread drugs in our communities.”
According to authorities, in October 2008, Billerica Police began an investigation into a narcotics distribution ring which was involved in selling Oxycontin pills for profit. Oxycontin is a powerful narcotic painkiller containing the active ingredient oxycodone, a derivative of opium. In November 2008, two members of the drug organization were arrested, and in January 2009, Billerica Police, Lowell Police and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms executed a search warrant at a related residence in Lowell. During the course of the search, police recovered a quantity of Xanax, cash, and several money transfer receipts from Western Union showing over $19,000 being sent to Miami, Florida between November 2008 and December 2008. In addition, during the search, authorities recovered a handwritten note with a Federal Express tracking number. Using that note, detectives were able to identify a Federal Express package in transit and intercept it before it reached Billerica. They obtained a search warrant for the package, and recovered 100 Oxycontin pills and 100 Xanax pills, concealed in a Haagen-Dazs ice cream box wrapped in packing tape. An analysis of the packing tape from the ice cream box revealed four identifiable fingerprints, which an expert from the North Andover Police Department was able to match to known fingerprints of the defendant David DeStephan.
Through their analysis of telephone records and shipping records, authorities determined that the defendant would receive money through wire transfer payments and would ship the narcotics to Massachusetts using fictitious sender names and fake return addresses. Authorities discovered that between September 29, 2008 and January 23, 2009, DeStephan received over $97,000 by means of thirty-three separate wire transfers from members of the Billerica-based drug organization. In exchange, DeStephan sent members of the Billerica-based organization at least nineteen separate shipments, containing more than 2000 80 mg Oxycontin pills – a total weight of over 600 grams.
On August 18, 2009, federal agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, using information developed by the Billerica Police investigation, executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home in Miami. In the course of their search, authorities recovered 160 oxycodone pills, as well as over $7,000 in cash. Authorities also seized and later forfeited the defendant’s Cadillac Escalade automobile, which they discovered had been purchased with $40,000 in cash.
The defendant was indicted by a Middlesex County Grand Jury on September 23, 2011, and was arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn on October 25, 2010.
The prosecutors assigned to the case are Assistant District Attorney David Solet, Chief of the Cyber Protection Program, and Assistant District Attorney Michael Kaneb. The Paralegal is Kyle Reed. This case was investigated by the Billerica Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
