Braintree Man Who Led Drug Trafficking Ring Gets 10 Years

BRAINTREE, MA — A Braintree man at the head of a "large-scale" drug trafficking operation will serve 10 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts said.

The drug trafficking organization (DTO) distributed fentanyl sourced from Latin America, officials said. Its leader, Jonathan Melendez Decatro, a/k/a “Jacha,” 32, of Braintree, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

In January 2025, Melendez Decatro pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. Melendez Decatro was indicted in June 2023.

In 2019, Melendez Decatro was identified as the leader of a large-scale DTO operating in the Brockton area, who sourced narcotics directly from Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.

On two dates in 2021, packages intended for Melendez Decatro were intercepted by law enforcement and each found to contain a kilogram of cocaine. Additionally, on several dates in the spring of 2023, Melendez Decatro conspired with an individual who resided in the Dominican Republic to distribute 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl to another individual in Braintree. It was later determined that the purity of the fentanyl ranged from 54% to 79% and also contained xylazine. During of search of Melendez Decatro’s residence, over $11,000 in drug proceeds and clothing worn during the fentanyl transactions were recovered.