Island Resident With Gang Ties Sentenced To Two Years In Federal Prison For Fentanyl And Cocaine Distrbution

An island resident with gang ties who was the target of a drug bust by federal agents at a Hooper Farm Road residence in November 2024 has been sentenced to two years in federal prison on drug distribution charges.

John Angel, 32, an associate of the transnational criminal organization known as the 18th Street Gang, had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Last Friday, Angel was sentenced by United States District Judge Myong J. Joun to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

Angel has remained in federal custody since his arrest last November, according to Caroline Ferguson, of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston.

According to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney's office in Boston, Angel met with a cooperating witness three times between March 2024 and July 2024 to sell approximately 117 grams of fentanyl, 28 grams of cocaine, and a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun for a combined sum of over $7,000.

"Specifically, on March 27, 2024, Angel directed the cooperating witness to meet him in East Boston, where he sold 'a 50' (approximately 50 grams of powder fentanyl)," the U.S. Attorney's office stated. "Later, on July 10, 2024, Angel met the cooperating witness on Nantucket and sold more powder fentanyl together with a quantity of cocaine. During the drug deals, Angel flaunted his prominence as a high-level drug supplier by boasting of his connections in the 18th Street Gang and, in one instance, showing the cooperating witness a backpack containing a kilogram of cocaine and a bag of orange pills and, elsewhere in his apartment, what appeared to be another kilogram of fentanyl. At the third meeting, Angel sold the Glock handgun together with a quantity of fentanyl and claimed he could also obtain Glock 'switches,' machine gun conversion devices, for the cooperating witness."

Angel was one of four residents arrested during the FBI raid on Hooper Farm Road in November 2024. The other three – who were not the targets of the warrant and raid – have also had their matters resolved either through dismissal or plea deals.

Based on the charges of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, Angel was facing a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years, and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million.

"Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case," the U.S. Attorney's office stated.

A host of law enforcement agencies were involved in the investigation that led to Angel's arrest, according to United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, along with Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, who made the announcement. Those agencies included: the Massachusetts State Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; the Suffolk County and Middlesex County District Attorney’s Offices; and the Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Falmouth, Lynn, Medford, Nantucket, and Revere Police Departments.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Fred Wyshak and Sarah Hoefle of the Criminal Division.