Boston Man Convicted of Crack Charges

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Cuwan Merritt, 29, of Boston, Massachusetts, was convicted today following a two-day jury trial in U.S. District Court of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, commonly known as “crack.”

On May 12, 2017, the defendant and Michael Artis travelled from Boston intending to sell crack in Lewiston.  Law enforcement agents intercepted the vehicle in which they were traveling when they reached Auburn.  A police dog alerted to the presence of narcotics on both men.  Agents seized 57 pre-packaged .5g bags of crack from Artis and later seized crack that Merritt had secreted in his body.

Merritt faces up to 20 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.  He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.  Artis pled guilty to the same charge on June 28, 2018 and awaits sentencing.

The investigation was conducted by the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the Auburn and Lewiston Police Departments and the Maine State Police.