Mass. man sentenced to 30 months to serve for selling drugs out of Airbnb in Waterbury
October 4, 2024 | By Eric Blaisdell | The Times ArgusBARRE — A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to 30 months to serve for recently selling drugs out of an Airbnb in Waterbury.
Rafael Santos, 38, of Springfield, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty on Sept. 24 in Washington County criminal court in Barre to felony counts of cocaine trafficking and selling fentanyl. Santos was sentenced to four to 20 years, all suspended, except for 30 months to serve. He was placed on probation for nine years.
Santos had been held on $50,000 bail since his arraignment in late July. He was housed at Marble Valley Regional Correctional Facility in Rutland as of Monday.
The state agreed to dismiss a felony count of fentanyl trafficking, two felony counts of selling cocaine and amended a felony count of selling fentanyl from a 20-year felony to a five-year felony, per the plea agreement.
According to court records, police used a cooperating individual to buy drugs from Santos, also known as “Jose Don.”
Police said two controlled buys were conducted on the week of July 7 and a third was conducted on the week of July 14. Police said the individual was given funds and equipped with audio and video monitoring devices.
During the first buy, police said the individual met up with Santos and returned with a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine. Police said the individual returned with suspected fentanyl after the second buy, and again returned with a substance that field-tested positive for cocaine following the third controlled buy.
Santos was arrested on July 25. Police said he had been staying at a home on Ripley Road in Waterbury.
Police said the investigation revealed Santos had rented part of the home through Airbnb, though the homeowner told investigators Santos did not have access to the rest of the home through his rental. Santos had been staying there for about two months, according to court records.
Police said a search warrant executed on the rental turned up about 310 bags of suspected fentanyl, 12 opioid pills, 95 Suboxone strips, 12 grams of cocaine in plastic bags and 719 grams of cocaine in the form of a broken, pressed kilogram brick. Police also found over $9,500 in cash, $300 of which came from the three controlled buys.
In court last week, Deputy State’s Attorney Zachery Weight said Santos was found with a substantial amount of drugs. Weight said Santos has agreed to forfeit the funds found by police during the execution of the search warrant.
“This was a big operation the defendant was running,” the prosecutor said, noting arresting Santos was a fairly substantial disruption to the drug trade seen in the county for the following two weeks.
Weight said Santos had been serving as the “point person” for others involved in the drug game in the area.
He said Santos would spend a substantial amount of time in prison, under this plea agreement, and would be on probation for years after that.
Weight said this plea deal sends a message to the community that the state’s attorney’s office and law enforcement, “won’t stand for this type of behavior and there will be a serious consequence if and when you are prosecuted.”
Santos’ attorney, Sam Dworkin, said his client was arrested less than two months prior on these charges. Dworkin said his client has taken accountability for his actions at an early stage in the process and acknowledged his conduct.
The defense attorney said the plea agreement calls for a significant prison sentence for Santos and a heavy suspended sentence hanging over his head to help him “stay on the straight and narrow.”
Santos declined to speak when given the opportunity.
Judge Michael Harris accepted the plea agreement and imposed the sentence.
“It’s a heavy sentence, but it’s very substantial criminal behavior here,” the judge said.
This story was originally published in the Times Argus.