Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Defendant has lengthy criminal history and served a lengthy state prison term for a brutal beating and assault with a firearm
BOSTON – A Taunton man who sold over a kilogram of counterfeit pills to an undercover officer was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for selling counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine.
Shavon Gurley, a/k/a “Soo Soo,” 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In October 2024, Gurley pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
Gurley was identified as being involved in trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine in conjunction with a Brockton-based drug trafficking organization.
As part of the investigation, between Aug. 2-5, 2024, undercover law enforcement communicated with Gurley about purchasing methamphetamine pills. On Aug. 5, 2024, Gurley sold 6,000 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, weighing over a kilogram, to an undercover officer. During the interaction, Gurley stated that he would drop the price per pill if the undercover officer were to buy 10,000 or 20,000 pills. Gurley continued to discuss his drug operation with the undercover officer and boasted about selling kilograms of fentanyl that his customers then go on to sell in Maine.
During the controlled purchase with the undercover officer, Gurley stated that he sells kilograms of fentanyl for $30,000, and that the fentanyl is such high quality that it can be adulterated with cutting agents into 10 kilograms. Gurley then stated he also sells a higher quality and purity fentanyl for $50,000, which can be adulterated into 50 kilograms. Gurley also boasted about property he has already acquired through selling narcotics and that he intends to reach $600,000 in profits. Gurley complimented the undercover officer’s “aura” and promised to do business with the officer in the future. At the time of the sale, Gurley was on pretrial release for a domestic violence offense.
Lastly, during the execution of search warrants at Gurley’s residence and vehicle, law enforcement recovered a loaded black firearm, two posters depicting cherubim – with captions that read, “I Only Fear the Feds,” and “Rats Don’t Make it To Heaven,” – a bag containing an amount of controlled substances believed to be fentanyl, as well as a number of plastic bags containing approximately 10,000 counterfeit Adderall pills believed to contain methamphetamine.
Gurley has a lengthy juvenile record and criminal history that includes a number of prior firearm and violent offenses – including a 2012 conviction for assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon for attacking a man with a pistol and pointing the firearm at the victim’s head, for which he served a six to 10 year term in state prison.
United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Taunton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.