Randy Barton, 49, of Loudon, New Hampshire, is headed to federal prison for a decade after being sentenced to 120 months for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The sentence, handed down in Concord, marks the end of a case rooted in a routine traffic stop that exposed a dangerous drug operation on I-93.
On April 11, 2018, a New Hampshire State Trooper pulled over a Chevrolet Cobalt in Canterbury for a traffic infraction. Behind the wheel was Katie-Jo Waters; Randy Barton sat in the front passenger seat. What started as a simple violation quickly turned criminal. The trooper noticed nervous behavior and conflicting stories from the two occupants, prompting a deeper investigation.
After asking Barton to exit the vehicle, the trooper conducted a pat-down and felt a suspicious bulge in his pants pocket. Inside, two plastic baggies were found containing 15.5 grams of highly pure methamphetamine. The drugs, capable of fueling addiction and violence in communities across the state, were seized before they could hit the streets.
Barton pleaded guilty to the charges on October 9, 2019. His co-defendant, Katie-Jo Waters, had already been sentenced to 72 months in prison on April 2, 2019, underscoring the seriousness with which federal prosecutors are treating methamphetamine distribution in New Hampshire.
“Highly pure methamphetamine is a rising threat to the health and safety of Granite Staters,” said U.S. Attorney Scott W. 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 investigation was a joint effort by the New Hampshire State Police, DEA, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, with support from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). Assistant U.S. Attorney John S. Davis prosecuted the case, building on earlier work by former prosecutor Shane B. Kelbley. Inspector in Charge Joseph W. Cronin of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division emphasized the agency’s ongoing mission: “One of our goals is to rid the mail of illicit drug trafficking and ensure the safety of our customers and employees.”
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Key Facts
- State: New Hampshire
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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