Man who spent three years in prison for being a member of a large Dorchester gang gets two more years for selling guns and coke to an informant

A federal judge today sentenced Herbert Small, 33, to two years in prison and six years of probation following his guilty plea to charges he sold two guns and cocaine to a man working with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Dorchester last year.

Small had earlier spent three years in prison for his role in the Columbia Point Dawgs, a once notorious gang named for the former housing project that had expanded along the East Coast, at least until the feds and local and state police rounded up 48 members - including Small - in a series of raids in 2015.

Small, whose father and brothers were also part of the gang, was released in 2019.

He was arrested again in November, 2023 by ATF agents who had heard he was back up to no good and conducted an investigation in which Small sold two guns - one with a magazine loaded with 11 bullets - and 25 grams of cocaine to an informant on Lyndhurst Street in Dorchester on Aug. 16 for $1,900. Small reduced the amount of cocaine he sold so that the informant could afford to buy the second gun, according to an affidavit by an ATF agent on the case. Small then sold crack to the informant in Dorchester on Oct. 16, according to the affidavit.

Small pleaded guilty this past April to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

Both the federal prosecutor in the case and Small's attorney recommended that US District Court Judge Julia Kobick sentence Small to 24 months, with assistant US Attorney Philip Cheng arguing she should sentence him to no less and his attorney, Stephen Huggard, arguing she should sentence him to no more.

In his sentencing memorandum, Cheng wrote:

A sentence of 24 months is necessary to specifically deter this defendant from continued criminal behavior in the future. The defendant stated that he intends to further his education, obtain gainful employment, and work on his relationship with his children.

The defendant ought to use this significant sentence to examine whether he is ready to put his intention into action and make a positive contribution to his community. Certainly, armed drug dealing exposes his children, and many other children to dangerous environments that only foster violence and addiction. A significant sentence will ensure that the defendant and others similarly situated to him know that armed drug dealing is a top priority for law enforcement and will be met with harsh consequences when brought to justice.

In his memorandum, Huggard wrote two years in prison and six months on probation would be enough time for Small to finally turn his troubled life around - with the help of a mother and other family members who love him:

Herbert Small is a simple man. He has led a difficult life, with a father who was absent for much of his childhood due to his own incarceration. As the pre-sentence report details, Herbert has limited education and has suffered from traumatic brain injury in the past. He has been diagnosed with mild to moderate mental retardation.He was sexually abused as a child. He has a limited ability to read. None of this excuses the choices he has made in life, and in this case, but they provide context for those decisions. ...

The sentence urged by the parties fairly punishes him for his crimes while allowing him the hope of a better life to come.