Boston, Mass. - A member of the Montes Park street gang in New Bedford was sentenced today in federal court on a drug charges.
KEITHER PARSON, 38, of New Bedford, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joseph L. Tauro to 40 months incarceration to be followed by six years of supervised release.
On September 16, 2010, after a four day jury trial, PARSON was found guilty of distribution of cocaine base and aiding and abetting. PARSON and a co-defendant sold 1.6 grams of crack cocaine to a undercover cooperating witness in exchange for $200 in March 2008.
Documents filed with the court alleged that PARSON was a member of the Montes Park street gang in New Bedford. Throughout the more than nine-month investigation, law enforcement made purchases of crack cocaine or firearm(s) from various members of the gang. The Montes Park street gang has a long history of involvement in a variety of illegal activities, including violence against rival gang members, and drug and firearm trafficking.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division; C. Samuel Sutter, Bristol County District Attorney; Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Ronald Teachman of the New Bedford Police Department; and Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson of Bristol County made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan in Ortiz’s Major Crime’s Unit.
