Previously Convicted Felon Caught On Snapchat Pleads Guilty to Firearm and Drug Offenses
Defendant Posted Snapchat Photos and Videos of Himself Holding Firearms While on House Arrest for Second State Firearm Charge
BOSTON – A member of the Boston street gang “D Street” pleaded guilty today to illegally possessing multiple firearms and ammunition while a convicted felon and while he was under house arrest for a state firearm charge.
Freily Cabral, 25, of Boston and Quincy, pleaded guilty today to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Dec. 14.
In August 2021, Cabral was identified as the owner of a Snapchat account posting images and of himself in possession of five firearms: a black colored Glock semiautomatic handgun with a flashlight attachment; a black Walther semi-automatic firearm; a silver Taurus revolver; a black semi-automatic firearm; and a brown and silver revolver. In one of the videos, Cabral held three separate firearms to his face as if he were using the firearms to make a phone call.
A search of Cabral’s Quincy residence in September 2021 resulted in the seizure of a Taurus .38 caliber revolver, a Hopkins and Allen .32 caliber revolver, .38 caliber and .32 caliber ammunition, hundreds of grams of marijuana packaged for sale and $23,000 in cash.
At the time of the offense, Cabral was on house arrest with electronic monitoring following a November 2020 arrest for his second unlawful possession of a firearm charge. Cabral was previously convicted in 2016 for unlawful possession of a firearm in Boston Municipal Court. In 2017, Cabral was convicted of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in Boston Municipal Court and was sentenced to one year in prison.
The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana provides for a sentence of up to 5 years in prison, at least two years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The operation was conducted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations.
Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Division; and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division made the announcement. Special assistance in the investigation was provided by the Boston, Quincy and Lynn Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Pohl of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
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