U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero | U.S. Department of Justice
Dewayne Quinones, 30, and Mayco Alvarez-Jackson, 27, from Reading, Pennsylvania, have been sentenced to life imprisonment. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero and delivered by United States District Court Judge Juan R. Sánchez. Both individuals were convicted of murder, kidnapping, drug distribution, and firearms offenses as members of a violent drug trafficking organization (DTO) based in the Reading area.
The Trinidad DTO was linked to multiple homicides and kidnappings between 2017 and 2018. Among these crimes was a quadruple homicide on January 28, 2018. In October 2022, Quinones and Alvarez-Jackson were found guilty at trial alongside DTO leader Jesus Feliciano-Trinidad for federal murder and weapons charges related to this incident. Feliciano-Trinidad had previously received a life sentence in December.
The investigation into the Trinidad DTO led to more than 15 defendants being charged with various crimes involving methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine distribution. These activities included using buildings for illegal operations and employing violence such as kidnapping and shootings.
U.S. Attorney Romero stated: “The Trinidad organization thoroughly terrorized the Reading area for years... As this case shows, my office, the FBI, and our local law enforcement partners will never cede control of our communities to violent drug gangs.”
Berks County District Attorney John Adams added: “These sentences should send a message that we will not tolerate violence or drug trafficking... We appreciate our partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the prosecution of this violent DTO.”
The case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Allentown Resident Agency along with several local law enforcement agencies including the Berks County District Attorney’s Office and the Reading Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kelly A. Lewis Fallenstein, Rosalynda M. Michetti, and Vineet Gauri.
