Man who rose from the gritty streets of Dorchester to a luxury beachside apartment sentenced to seven years in prison, because he was also a gang member caught with a gun and coke while on probation for a gun conviction

A federal judge this week sentenced a member of Dorchester's Ashmont Street gang to seven years in federal prison after he admitted that he was in possession of a gun and ammunition he shouldn't have been since he was on parole for an earlier gun-running sentence - as well as being in possession of saleable quantities of cocaine.

Dane Mitchell, 32, pleaded guilty in October to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute for the guns, ammunition and drugs federal agents found in his luxury apartment in Revere Beach, which advertises itself "just 30 steps from the sand," in 2021. Both the prosecutor and Mitchell's attorney agreed on the sentence.

Mitchell was one of several people rounded up in 2021 as an extension of a crackdown on the Cameron Street gang by DEA and ATF.

Agents found members of that gang and several rival gangs had a group chat going on Snapchat, which they imaginatively titled "Gang Members Only," on which Mitchell and the others "boasted about what they would do to rivals and / or regularly posted images of themselves posing with or in possession of firearms." In Mitchell's case, that included posting photos of bullet holes in his BMW after he was shot in August, 2021, and him clutching a Ruger 57 firearm and a magazine, according to a sentencing memorandum by prosecutors.

On December 28, 2021, agents executed a search warrant at MITCHELL's apartment and seized a Taurus TCP Model 738 PT .380 caliber pistol with an obliterated serial number, loaded with four rounds of .380 caliber ammunition in the clip and one in the chamber. Agents seized additional rounds of ammunition, bags of cocaine, cocaine base, and fentanyl, and a large bag containing 1166.9 grams of a cutting agent. Agents seized a kilo press and various utility bills and other mail in MITCHELL's name at the 540 Revere Beach Boulevard address.

Three other men, members of the Heath Street, and D Street gangs, were also arrested; all face their own sentencing hearings over the next month.

Mitchell was on parole following a 2 1/4-year sentence for gun running in Maine, according to prosecutors.

In his sentencing memorandum, Mitchell's attorney said the 84-month sentence would be long enough to make Mitchell pay for his crimes, but said Mitchell has shown a willingness to turn his life around, finally. He pointed to the 2 1/2 years he worked as a personal care attendant for his disabled father - with whom he had reconciled after he left Mitchell's family when Mitchell was just a boy, forcing the family to live in a series of homes in "poor neighborhoods that were plagued by crime." He also said Mitchell had taken several classes while locked up following his arrest, and added:

[A]ll told, Mr. Mitchell will spend nearly the entirety of his 30s directly paying the consequences for his actions in this matter. This amount of court control over him for this length time will satisfy the sentencing goals of deterrence, just punishment, and protection of the public.