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Boston Globe
7 days ago
- Health
- Boston Globe
Dean Tran, former state senator, pleads guilty to gun theft charges
Tran wrote in a letter submitted last month in his open federal case that he is struggling with physical and mental health problems. He said his 'oral hygiene is poor,' the food portions he receives are 'insufficient' at FMC Devens, and that the conditions are 'not sufficient for human life.' 'In these conditions, I cannot mount a defense to the charges against me,' he wrote in a six-page, handwritten affidavit. 'My health is deteriorating. . . . I find difficulty in writing even a short letter. I am in a haze and often can't think straight.' Advertisement A Fitchburg Republican, Tran served in the state Legislature from 2017 to January 2021, and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2022 against US Representative Lori Trahan, a Westford Democrat. He's faced a litany of criminal cases since. Tran was indicted on the Advertisement In September, a federal jury found Tran guilty of He also is awaiting trial in a separate federal case where prosecutors In the gun case, prosecutors said a 77-year-old constituent contacted Tran in 2019, while he was a state senator, asking for help with 'personal and paperwork issues' following the death of her husband. Instead, prosecutors said, Tran convinced her to give him at least eight of her late husband's guns, made her sign a document, and paid her $1,500 in cash. When the woman's family and friends demanded Tran return the guns, he did, but only to return early in the morning, when he 'pushed' his way into the home, intimidated the woman into giving him the key to his husband's gun safe, and stole a Colt .45 handgun while the woman hid in her bedroom, prosecutors said. The gun was returned at a later date. Tran then allegedly misled State Police investigators, claiming that the guns were actually his, and that the woman should write him an apology letter and a 'letter to the editor thanking him for helping her recover a sentimental item.' Advertisement When he was charged, Tran called the allegations 'categorically false' and accused then-attorney general Maura Healey of 'partisan corruption' for pursuing the case while she ran for governor. Healey ultimately won the governor's office that fall. Matt Stout can be reached at
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Yahoo
Mass. state employee, inmate charged in scheme to smuggle drugs into federal prison
A Massachusetts state employee and a prison inmate are accused of smuggling drugs into the federal prison in Devens, the U.S. Attorney said Wednesday. Tasha Hammock, 43, of Bridgewater, an employee with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and Raymond Gaines, 45, an inmate at FMC Devens, are both charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. Hammock was arrested Tuesday and appeared in federal court in Boston, Foley said. Gaines will make an initial appearance at a later date. The pair are accused of conspiring to distribute a synthetic cannabinoid, also known as 'K2,' into the Devens prison. Gaines had been granted clemency on Jan. 17, reducing his 2022 federal prison sentence for drug distribution. On Jan. 25, 2022, Gaines was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court in Boston to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. At the time he committed the offenses, he was on federal judicial supervised release after serving a prison sentence resulting from a 2017 conviction for distributing cocaine base within 1,000 feet of a school. According to court records, in both prior cases, Gaines was alleged to be an associate of the Orchard Park Trailblazers, a street gang in Boston. On Jan. 17, Gaines received an Executive Grant of Clemency, reducing his current federal sentence to five years in prison. According to the charging document, on Aug. 18, 2024, Hammock, while visiting Gaines in the prison, surreptitiously passed K2-laced papers to Gaines, which he pocketed. Foley's office on Wednesday released photographs of the alleged transaction between Hammock and Gaines. In addition, Hammock allegedly previously handled money connected with the distribution of K2 to Gaines in FMC Devens, and she allegedly received K2 at her home for distribution into the prison, prosecutors said. According to the criminal complaint, law enforcement became interested in Hammock's visits to Gaines after obtaining a cellphone that had allegedly been smuggled to an inmate in the prison. That inmate, in September 2023, allegedly sent messages on the cell phone to another person, discussing obtaining K2 in prison. The inmate allegedly told the other person that the drugs could be delivered to a particular address in Bridgewater – later determined to be Hammock's home, - and that the inmate's 'co' would arrange for the drugs to be brought into the prison from there. According to prosecutors, K2 presents a health problem at FMC Devens, where inmates have become sick from smoking paper believed to contain K2, as well as prison staff who have been exposed to the secondary smoke. If convicted on the charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance analogue, Hammock and Gaines face a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
