Rochester Man Sentenced For Trafficking Fentanyl And Firearms Crimes

          CONCORD, N.H. – United States Attorney Emily Gray Rice announced that Anthony Elton Cook was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison based upon his plea of guilty to charges arising from possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute and his unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with his drug trafficking activity.  Cook previously had pleaded guilty to one count of Possession of Fentanyl with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Firearm in Connection with a Drug Trafficking Offense and Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.  Cook, 26 years old, lived in Rochester, New Hampshire before he was taken into custody on related charges in January. 

          According to court documents, testimony and statements Cook made in earlier proceedings, a Rochester, N.H., police patrol officer pulled Cook over for a suspected motor vehicle violation on July 12, 2015.  An ensuing search of Cook’s car and person yielded, among other things, a distribution quantity of fentanyl, a hand gun and ammunition.  Cook previously had been convicted of a felony and therefore was prohibited under federal firearms laws from possessing a gun.  The police also recovered from Cook $1900 in small cash denominations. 

          U.S. District Judge Paul J. Barbadoro sentenced Cook.  In addition to the term of incarceration, Judge Barbadoro ordered Cook to serve, upon his release from prison, a term of supervised release of 5 years.  While on supervised release, Cook will be required to abide by certain rules and conditions established by the court.  If he fails to abide by those rules and conditions, he could be returned to prison to serve additional time.  Finally, Judge Barbadoro forfeited Cook’s interest in the $1900 cash and ordered Cook to pay an additional $300 in administrative court fees.

          This matter was investigated by the Rochester (N.H.) Police Department with support from the Bedford, N.H., field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bill Morse.