Brockton's Head Shot Mafia Members Arrested: Police

BROCKTON, MA — State Police say they have arrested three members of Head Shot Mafia, described as a violent drug crew that operates in Brockton. Placido Armando Pereira, 33, Natalio Miranda, 28, and Djoy Defrancesco, 23, all Brockton residents, were arrested and one member of the crew remains at large, State Police said Wednesday.

According to police, Head Shot Mafia operates a fentanyl delivery service. Pereira, Miranda and Defrancesco were arrested Wednesday morning and charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. They were arrested after a month-long police investigation that included Homeland Security, police say. Another member of the drug organization, 24-year-old Jason Miranda, of Taunton, remains at large.

According to the State Police, the crew is tied to distributing large amount of fentanyl that spanned all of Brockton and nearby communities. Police say that the drug customers placed orders for fentanyl by contacting a cell phone that was maintained and shared by the Head Shot Mafia members, who then worked together to deliver the drug.

An undercover law enforcement officer was introduced to the group last month, according to the State Police. That officer made six purchases of fentanyl from members of the crew, police say.

All three people arrested have criminal records. In 2017, Pereira was convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. For those charges, he was sentenced to three years in prison. In 2010, he was also arrested on a drug trafficking charge at Logan Airport while he was returning to the U.S. from Cape Verde. He later was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release. And in February 2014, he was a target of an assassination attempt in Brockton, police say.

Court documents indicate that Natalio Miranda sold fentanyl to an undercover officer while being out on probation for a drug trafficking offense. Defrancesco also sold fentanyl to an undercover officer while being on pre-trial release — he had been indicted at Plymouth Superior Court on charges of fentanyl trafficking, possession of a firearm and possession of a high capacity feeding device, according to police.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess a drug with intent to distribute carries a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine if convicted.