2 Woonsocket Residents Plead Guilty To Drug Trafficking Charges

WOONSOCKET, RI — Two Woonsocket residents and one Cranston resident have pleaded guilty to charges related to an FBI drug and firearm trafficking investigation, said United States Attorney United States Attorney Richard B. Myrus in a news release Wednesday.

Juan Batista, 35, and Natalie Cassidy, 27, both of Woonsocket, and Angel Aviles, 20, of Cranston, admitted to participating in a conspiracy that distributed crack cocaine and fentanyl in Woonsocket and various other locations. They are among nearly two dozen individuals charged in connection with the investigation.

According to court records, Aviles often brokered the sale of fentanyl and crack cocaine supplied by Batista, who sometimes brokered his own drug deals. On several occasions, Cassidy delivered the drugs, collected payments, and offered to be a point of contact for transactions.

Investigators say members of the FBI Task Force surveilled at least six drug deals made by members of the conspiracy between February 26 and June 23 2020. Between 7.4 and 36.2 grams of crack cocaine were delivered in these transactions for between $360 and $1,800.

Batista, Cassidy, and Aviles face statutory penalties of between 5-40 years of incarceration in federal prison.