Dorchester cocaine dealer gets nearly 3 1/2 years in federal prison

A man who admitted using a Mt. Ida Road house as a "stash house" as part of a Boston/Brockton cocaine operation was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison yesterday, the US Attorney's office reports.

Luis Alfredo Baez, 53, pleaded guilty on Feb. 23 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base, oxycodone and marijuana and one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

According to a sentencing memorandum by prosecutors, Baez sold cocaine in the Bowdoin/Geneva area of Dorchester, and that FBI agents using a pole-mounted camera watched his buyers enter and then quickly leave the house at 23 Mt. Ida Road after making arrangements through phone calls that the FBI was monitoring.

US District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton sentenced Baez to the 41 months prosecutors had asked, after arguing that the calculation for a suggested sentence was off because it failed to take into account the fact that he had been arrested for cocaine trafficking in 2006 but then managed to avoid prosecution for some 12 years on that charge.

Baez's lawyer, however, urged that he be sentenced to no more than 30 months, both because of why he got into coke dealing and because he behaved well in prison even during the pandemic.

At the age of fifty-one, Mr. Baez made some very poor choices when he started acting asa source of cocaine supply to individuals in the Boston area. That he engaged in this conduct out of desperation to provide for his family to keep them out of the poverty and food insecurity he suffered while growing up does not excuse his behavior, though it provides some context.

Also, he fully cooperated with the feds once he was arrested and:

In addition to his admission of guilt, Mr. Baez has also maintained a virtually spotless record while in custody. Mr. Baez maintained this record during a turbulent time in the correctional facility due to the dangers, heightened fear, and increased isolation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though he was not afforded the freedoms and privileges typically offered to those in custody, Mr. Baez stayed steady. During lockdowns forced by COVID-19, he focused on reading his bible and playing cards. Detention has not been an easy period for Mr. Baez due to the limited programming and infrequent opportunities to leave his cell during the pandemic, but he has maintained a strong relationship with his mother, his siblings, and a family friend that have helped him to stay strong.