A 25-year-old Methuen man was sentenced last Friday to seven years in prison and four years of supervised release for selling drugs five different times to an undercover agent.
Andi Guerrero-Lara was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns. Guerrero-Lara pleaded guilty last Jan. 5 to seven charges, including conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 100 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl, three counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and 10 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl, two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 10 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of acetyl fentanyl and 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
“This individual pumped deadly opioids into our neighborhoods and, when he was finally exposed, recklessly endangered multiple lives in lengthy, a high-speed car chase,” said U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins. “Opioids are the leading cause of now-record-high drug overdose deaths—cutting short the lives of far too many.”
Guerrero-Lara was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2019 along with Angel Rivera-Valle and was charged Sept. 2, 2020. They were part of a drug trafficking ring in the Merrimack Valley that regularly sold large quantities of fentanyl. During September and October 2019, an undercover agent purchased a fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl mixture from the pair on five separate dates.
This case was part of a coordinated effort in the Merrimack Valley called “Devil’s Highway.” The program resulted in charges against 40 people for federal drug offenses with at least a dozen more individuals facing state charges.
After Angel-Valle’s arrest in 2019, Guerrero-Lara led police on the chase and was ultimately arrested at a Lawrence apartment complex.