Commonwealth v. Silva

For trafficking in 200 or more grams of cocaine, the Legislature has fixed a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years in prison. G. L. c. 94C, § 32E(b) (3), as appearing in St. 1982, c. 650, § 11. After a joint trial before a jury in the Superior Court, the defendants were convicted of trafficking at that level and of distributing cocaine in violation of G. L. c. 94C, § 32A, as appearing in St. 1982, c. 650, § 7. Silva was sentenced to a term of ten to fifteen years’ imprisonment at M.C.I., Cedar Junction, on the trafficking charge and to a concurrent five to ten year term on the distributing…