BOSTON – An associate of the Orchard Park gang was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for firearm and drug charges arising from his involvement in a Boston-area drug trafficking organization.
Raymond Gaines, 42, of Bridgewater, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 90 months in prison and three years of supervised release. On Jan. 25, 2022, Gaines pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
In April 2021, an investigation was opened into a drug trafficking organization involving Gaines. The investigation revealed that Gaines was an associate of the Orchard Park gang and that he actively sold cocaine in and around the Boston area. On June 1, 2021, Gaines was found in possession of cocaine intended for sale, as well as a Ruger .380 LCP semiautomatic handgun, loaded with one round of .380 caliber ammunition and a Glock 9mm semi-automatic handgun, along with numerous rounds of additional ammunition. Gaines was on federal supervised release at the time of the offense.
First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Boston Police Acting Commissioner Gregory Long; and Bridgewater Police Chief Christopher D. Delmonte made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Dawley of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.