Lewiston Man Sentenced to Eight Years on Drug Trafficking and Firearms Charges

Portland, Maine:  United States Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced that Keon Baptiste‑Harris, 37, of Lewiston, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy Torresen to eight years in prison and three years of supervised release for distribution of cocaine base (a/k/a crack cocaine) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Baptiste‑Harris pleaded guilty on March 20, 2019.

According to court records, on May 1, 2018, Baptiste-Harris distributed cocaine base to a person working with law enforcement. On June 26, 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Baptiste-Harris’s residence in Lewiston. During the search, agents seized distributable quantities of narcotics, more than $8,000 in U.S. currency, ammunition, cell phones and a loaded 9 mm pistol. Baptiste-Harris admitted possessing the firearm to protect himself, his narcotics and the proceeds from his narcotics trafficking

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the FBI’s Southern Maine Gang Task Force; the Lewiston Police Department; and the Maine State Police.

The prosecution is a result of the ongoing efforts by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Program, a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The OCDETF mission is to identify, investigate and prosecute high-level members of drug trafficking enterprises, bringing together the combined expertise and unique abilities of federal, state and local law enforcement.