Worcester Eastside Gang Associate Sentenced For Gun & Drug Dealing
Saturday, June 21, 2025, 2:50 P.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
BOSTON, MA.- A 23-year-old former Worcester, Massachusetts, man with known ties to the Eastside Street Gang will be spending the next six years in federal prison after being sentenced yesterday in Federal Court in Worcester, Massachusetts, for firearms and narcotics trafficking crimes.
According to U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, on Friday, June 20, 2025, Juan Otero, also known as “Nene” and “Blockz,” 23, of Franklin, Massachusetts, a known associate of a street gang, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 72 months in federal prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to federal firearms and narcotics offenses.
Otero Pleads Guilty In February 2025
In February 2025, Otero appeared in Federal Court and pleaded guilty to one count of Dealing in Firearms without a Federal License; one count of Receiving a Firearm While Under Indictment; one count of Possession of a Machinegun; and one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute and Distribution of a Controlled Substance, Cocaine. Otero was indicted on the charges by a Federal Grand Jury in March 2024.
According Charging Documents Filed With The Court
According to the charging information unsealed in the 2024 indictment, in late August 2023, a confidential informant working with federal law enforcement Investigators made contact with Otero on the Social Media Instant Messenger application Snapchat about purchasing cocaine from him. Subsequently, Otero sold the confidential informant a total of 14 grams of cocaine on two separate occasions, on November 15, 2023, and December 6, 2023, during controlled buys under the observation of law enforcement Investigators.
Prior to the second narcotics sale, on November 27, 2023, Otero also sold the confidential informant a Taurus 9mm handgun with a defaced serial number, ammunition, and a 17-round magazine.
Otero Sells An Additional Four Guns In January 2025
Then, over a twelve-day period in January 2025, Otero sold four additional firearms to the confidential informant: a Colt .45-caliber, ammunition, and a large capacity magazine on January 11, 2025; a Walther 9mm caliber pistol, a Ruger .357 caliber revolver with a defaced serial number, and ammunition and a magazine on January 17, 2025; and a Glock .45-caliber pistol with a machinegun conversion device attached to the back, a 40-round drum magazine and two additional magazines loaded with ammunition on January 23, 2025.
In addition to the five handguns Otero sold, he offered to sell the confidential informant additional firearms, including a different Glock pistol, a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber, a Walther .22 caliber, a different Taurus handgun, and an AR-style rifle.
At the time of the instant offenses, Otero was on release pending trial for Massachusetts State firearms charges. Specifically, in 2022, Otero was indicted in Worcester Superior Court on multiple state firearms offenses and an attempted assault and battery charge.
