Mass and Cass dealer sentenced to 13 years in prison
BOSTON, December 21, 2023 – A well-known drug dealer in the Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard section of Boston was sentenced to 13 years in prison today after being convicted by a Suffolk County jury last week on numerous drug and gun charges, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden announced.
Judge Mark Hallal sentenced JAY CANDELARIO, 43, of Lowell to eight years on the charges of trafficking fentanyl, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of suboxone with intent to distribute, illegal possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a high-capacity magazine. Hallal added an additional five-year sentence for possession of a firearm while in commission of a felony.
The jury convicted Candelario on Friday, December 15 after deliberating for less than four hours. Assistant District Attorney John Mooney handled the case for Hayden’s office.
On February 13, 2021, officers from the Boston Area C-6 Drug Control Unit arrested Candelario after observing him selling drugs in the comfort area set up by the Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program, adjacent to the Southampton Street Shelter. Upon Candelario’s arrest officers seized a .40-caliber Taurus pistol with a large-capacity magazine, 111 grams of fentanyl, six grams of cocaine, 42 grams of suboxone, over $3,500 in cash, drug packaging materials and scales.
The Taurus firearm was customized with art featuring the Grim Reaper.
“This man used space set up by a caring organization to keep people warm on cold winter days in order to sell those same susceptible people deadly drugs for his own profit. This was an impact drug dealer in Mass and Cass who came from outside of Boston to prey upon the vulnerable people in the area. I thank the jury and judge for making sure this man is held accountable for the many harms he has inflicted,” Hayden said.
Hayden’s office in 2022 launched Services Over Sentences, a program funded with $400,000 from the office’s asset forfeiture account to help lower-level offenders in the Mass and Cass area receive the support necessary to leave the area. The SOS program received an additional $1 million in funding from the Massachusetts Legislature this year.
Hayden said his office’s approach has been to target impact criminals in the area—drug dealers, human traffickers, violent offenders and others—while offering services or diversion programs to qualifying lower-level offenders.
“Mr. Candelario was a major presence at Mass and Cass when the area was at its peak population point. Our focus has always been on the opportunists like him who saw only one thing amid the vast hardship at Mass and Cass—the ability to make money,” Hayden said.
All charged individuals are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden’s office serves the communities of Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop, Mass. The office handles over 20,000 cases a year. More than 160 attorneys in the office practice in nine district and municipal courts, Suffolk Superior Court, the Massachusetts Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Boston Juvenile Courts. The office employs some 300 people and offers a wide range of services and programs to serve anyone who comes in contact with the criminal justice system. This office is committed to educating the public about the services we provide, our commitment to crime prevention, and our dedication to keeping the residents of Suffolk County safe.
James Borghesani, Chief of Communications