A 34-year-old, former Lawrence man was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for his role in operating a Methuen drug “stash house” where more than 10 kilograms fentanyl and heroin and drug processing equipment were seized in 2018.
Carlos Soto-Villar was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 188 months in prison and five years of supervised release. He will be subject to deportation to the Dominican Republic after completing the sentence. Soto-Villar was convicted last October by a federal jury of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin and 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
According to court records, Soto-Villar supplied a kilogram of fentanyl to co-defendant Ana Caraballo Dec. 6, 2018. It was seized by police the next day after a search of a Methuen apartment used by Soto-Villar and Angel Valdez as a drug stash house. Soto-Villar is said to have fled from the apartment and was arrested a short distance away.
Assistance was provided by Massachusetts State Police and Methuen Police Department.