Owner of Brockton Store “Banks & Brancos” Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Crimes

BOSTON - The owner of Brockton a clothing store, "Banks & Brancos," pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to drug trafficking and firearm charges.

Felipe Jonet-Branco, 31, of Brockton, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and 10 counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy scheduled Jonet-Branco's sentencing for Nov. 2, 2026. Seven members and associates of the Brockton-based Harvard Street Gang were charged in February 2026, following the execution of search warrants at numerous residences and stash locations associated with the group, including Banks & Brancos.

On Feb. 4, 2026, a search was executed at Banks & Brancos in Brockton where 10 firearms, over 35 pounds of marijuana with packaging, over 200 grams of psilocin mushrooms and over $40,000 in cash was seized during the search. Eight of those firearms, along with large-capacity magazines and several empty bottles of promethazine with codeine, were found inside a hidden drawer underneath the store's front counter. The guns included a large-caliber rifle and a Glock handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device. An additional gun was hidden inside the store's vending machine, and another was in plain view in a storage room. Jonet-Branco is prohibited from possessing firearms due to a prior conviction for felony battery in Miami-Dade County, Fla.

The charge of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, supervised release for at least three years and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of firearms provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, supervised release for up to three years 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.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations, Boston Division; the Abington, Acushnet, Ashland, Boston, Braintree, Bridgewater, Brockton, Chelsea, East Bridgewater, Medford, Quincy, Randolph, Raynham, Stoughton, Taunton and West Bridgewater Police Departments; the Plymouth and Suffolk County Sheriff's Departments; Massachusetts Department of Correction; and the Plymouth, Norfolk and Suffolk County District Attorney's Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Cutshall and Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.