Boston federal prosecutors charge illegal immigrant busted in Revere migrant shelter

Flint McColgan, Boston Herald on Jan 8, 2025

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BOSTON — The feds have lodged charges against the illegal immigrant arrested at a Revere hotel that is part of Massachusetts’ emergency assistance shelter program.

Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, 28, already faced state charges on firearms — he allegedly had an AR-15 and high-capacity feeding devices and by virtue of his immigration status was not allowed to have any weaponry — as well as possession of nearly 5 kilograms, or roughly 11 pounds, of fentanyl, following his arrest by local police on Dec. 27. He was staying at the Quality Inn, which confirmed to the Herald that it is closed to the general public.

Now federal prosecutors have leveled their own charges against him: possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl and being an alien in possession of a firearm who has entered the United States unlawfully

Sanchez, a national of the Dominican Republic, according to his attorney in the state case as well as the law enforcement affidavit filed in the federal case, is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Boston’s Seaport at 12:15 p.m. today.

Details

Sanchez had lived at the shelter since Oct. 15, according to a spokesman for the Executive Office of Housing & Livable Communities (EOHLC), which partially runs the state emergency shelter program.

The office says it conducts warrant checks of all EA residents every 30 days and all residents undergo background checks when they apply for a shelter.

However, Sanchez himself did not apply for the program but instead accompanied an unidentified person who had successfully applied to the program, according to comments made by Gov. Maura Healey on Tuesday.

Healey had a day earlier ordered an inspection of all state-run emergency shelters and a “full review” of the intake process, stemmed from Sanchez’s arrest and the serious charges against him.

Revere Police were called by Sanchez’s girlfriend at around 6:30 a.m. on Dec. 27, according to the law enforcement affidavit filed in the federal case. She told them that Sanchez “had a firearm and controlled substances in their hotel room,” the document states. She told them “that the firearm was long and black and hidden under a pink suitcase” and that drugs were “inside a blue bag located on the desk.”

These are new details, as most filings in the state courts were impounded following Sanchez’s dangerousness hearing last week.

The couple had been living at the Quality Inn for three months and had “obtained the room through a refugee program,” the unidentified girlfriend told police upon their arrival, according to the affidavit.

Officers found Sanchez sleeping on the bed, according to the document written by Task Force Officer James Picardi of the Boston office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. They placed him under arrest and allegedly located the AR-15-style rifle, the drugs which field tested positive for fentanyl, four digital scales, “an abundance of blue latex gloves,” two rifle magazines and several rounds of .380 ammunition.

“Based upon my training and experience, I know that this quantity of fentanyl, the presence of digital scales and latex gloves are indicative of drug distribution,” Picardi wrote.

The federal fentanyl charge carries a minimum of a decade and up to life in prison as well as a fine of up to $10 million while the charge of unlawful possession of a firearm carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

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