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Dominican man arrested at Revere shelter now facing federal drug, gun charges
Authorities have said Leonardo Andujar Sanchez entered the U.S. unlawfully and never applied for the state shelter system.
Federal authorities have charged an undocumented immigrant from the Dominican Republic who was allegedly found with an assault rifle and pounds of fentanyl last month at a Revere hotel operating as a temporary shelter.
Leonardo Andujar Sanchez, 28, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Wednesday. He is charged with being an alien in possession of a firearm who entered the U.S. unlawfully, as well as possession with intent to distribute more than 400 grams of fentanyl.
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Authorities allegedly found in his hotel room five kilograms of suspected fentanyl, an AR-style assault rifle, ammunition, two rifle magazines, a digital scale, and “an abundance of latex gloves.” Andujar Sanchez is also facing separate state gun and drug charges, federal prosecutors said. His attorney was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
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Andujar Sanchez’s girlfriend called Revere police on Dec. 27 to report that he had a firearm and controlled substances in their room at the Quality Inn on Morris Street, according to an affidavit from a task force officer with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Hotel employees informed police Andujar Sanchez’s girlfriend was listed as the room’s occupant, and the woman told officers she had been living there for three months, according to the affidavit. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Gov. Maura Healey said Andujar Sanchez never applied for housing as part of Massachusetts’s emergency assistance program, the Boston Herald reported.
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Speaking to investigators, Andujar Sanchez allegedly confirmed he did not enter the U.S. lawfully, per the affidavit from the DEA task force officer. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said in a statement he entered the country illegally “on an unknown date at an unknown location sometime within the past year.”
His arrest prompted Healey to call for a full inspection of the state-run shelter system.
“It’s outrageous that this individual took advantage of our shelter system to engage in criminal activity,” the governor said in a statement
Revere Mayor Patrick M. Keefe Jr. said Tuesday the city is “in lockstep” with state leaders in calling for better federal controls to “stop those who seek to do harm from gaining entry into our communities.”
Revere has increased the police presence at the Quality Inn and will hold the shelter’s operator responsible for any associated fees or costs, he said in a statement.
“We cannot let individuals who prey on vulnerable people and who seek to do harm access our country through systems meant to help those fleeing the same violence in their home lands,” Keefe said. “We will continue to work in partnership with our state and federal leaders to uphold the laws of our commonwealth and our values of protecting children from sleeping on the street.”
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If convicted in his federal case, Andujar Sanchez faces up to life in prison and a maximum fine of $10 million on the drug charge, prosecutors said. He also faces as much as 15 years and a fine of up to $250,000 on the gun charge.
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