Loudon Man Sentenced to 10 years in Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking

            CONCORD - Randy Barton, 49, of Loudon, New Hampshire, was sentenced to 120 months in prison for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, United States Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 11, 2018, a New Hampshire State Trooper was patrolling I-93 in Canterbury.  After observing a Chevrolet Cobalt commit a traffic infraction, the Trooper stopped the car and approached it.  A woman, Katie-Jo Waters, was driving the car, and defendant Randy Barton was in the front seat.  After making numerous observations of Waters and Barton and detecting inconsistencies in their stories, the Trooper asked Barton to step out of the vehicle, and conducted a pat-down search.  The Trooper detected a bulge in Barton's pants pocket, and recovered two plastic baggies containing 15.5 grams of highly pure methamphetamine.

            Barton previously pleaded guilty on October 9, 2019.

            Katie-Jo Waters was sentenced to 72 months on April 2, 2019.

            “Highly pure methamphetamine is a rising threat to the health and safety of Granite Staters,” said U.S. Attorney Murray.  “In this case, an alert State Trooper prevented a quantity of this dangerous drug from reaching its intended destination.  This arrest, along with the ten-year prison sentence imposed by the judge, should serve as a warning to others who seek to distribute this dangerous drug in New Hampshire.”

            “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and our law enforcement partners will continue to work diligently to keep methamphetamine and other highly addictive drugs out of our communities,” said Inspector in Charge Joseph W. Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division.  “One of our goals is to rid the mail of illicit drug trafficking and ensure the safety of our customers and employees.”

            This matter was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police, DEA, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis.  Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Shane B. Kelbley previously worked on this case.

            This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).  The OCDETF program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.  

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