Career Offender Sentenced to 9 Years for Fentanyl Trafficking in Waterville Area

BANGOR, Maine: A Waterville man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute.

U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Patrick Hanson, 32, to 110 months in prison followed by six years of supervised release. Hanson pleaded guilty on November 3, 2022.

According to court records, in October 2021, officers with the Waterville Police Department arrested Hanson after receiving information that he had threatened another individual. After his arrest, Hanson was found to have a total of seven packages of suspected narcotics on his person or in his immediate possession, including one package that he had kicked under a door while at the police station. In total, police seized approximately 43 grams of a mixture containing fentanyl. Just 2 mg of fentanyl is considered a lethal dose. Hanson was convicted in 2013 for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute oxycodone and 500 grams or more of cocaine. Judge Woodcock found him to be a career offender under the federal sentencing guidelines, which subjected him to a higher advisory guideline sentence.

The Waterville Police Department, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The Kennebec County District Attorney’s Office also assisted with the case.

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