Springfield Man Convicted of Distributing Crack Cocaine

BOSTON—James Melvin, 33, Springfield, was convicted by a jury sitting before United States District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of cocaine base.

Judge Gorton scheduled sentencing for March 7, 2012. Melvin faces up to 30 years in prison, to be followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release and a $2 million fine.

During the four-day trial, evidence proved that on Feb. 19, 2010, Melvin, working with another individual, arranged to sell approximately 12 grams of crack cocaine to a cooperating witness. Melvin told the cooperating witness to meet him at a package store in Springfield, where they exchanged the crack cocaine for $500.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Michael Mastroianni, Hampden County District Attorney; Colonel Marian McGovern, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Commissioner William Fitchet of the Springfield Police Department; and Michael J. Ashe, Jr., Hampden County Sheriff made the announcement today. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Western Massachusetts Gang Task Force, consisting of law enforcement personnel from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Massachusetts State Police, the Springfield Police Department, the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office and other local police departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Unit.