Two Lawrence Men & Lunenberg Man Plead Guilty To Distributing Cocaine
Thursday, February 27, 2025, 2:00 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BOSTON, MA.- Three Massachusetts men are facing up to life in federal prison after all three men have pleaded guilty to federal narcotics offenses for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving nine kilograms of cocaine.
On Monday, February 24, 2025, Leonardo Lara, 44, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to one count of Conspiracy to Distribute and to Possess with Intent to Distribute 5 Kilograms or More of Cocaine.
Following entering his guilty plea on Monday, Judge Burroughs accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2025. At that time, Lara faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison, at least five years of supervised release, and up to a $10 million fine.
   Previously, Lara’s co-defendants, Merced Navarro Morfin, 44, of Lunenberg, Massachusetts, and Leandro Martinez, 43, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. In addition, Navarro Morfin also pleaded guilty to an additional count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine. Navarro Morfin is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6, 2025, and Martinez’s sentencing is scheduled for May 7, 2025.
According To The U.S. Attorney’s Office
According to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and charging information unsealed in the August 3, 2023 indictment. In April 2022, an investigation uncovered that Lara was in possession of $230,000 in drug proceeds that he sought to send to Mexico. On April 20, 2022, Lara was stopped on Interstate 84 in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.
During the motor vehicle traffic stop, law enforcement officers found around $40,000 in drug proceeds hidden inside a baby-wipe container in the trunk of Lara’s vehicle. Around 30 minutes later, following the conclusion of the traffic stop, Martinez and Navarro Morfin were observed by investigators traveling to Lara’s residence and removing eight kilograms of cocaine. Another kilogram of cocaine and around $196,000 in bundled cash were found in the vehicle that Martinez and Navarro Morfin had traveled in.
