Manchester Man Pleads Guilty for Intending to Traffic Methamphetamine and Fentanyl

CONCORD – A Manchester man pleaded guilty today in federal court for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces. 

John Barber, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, namely methamphetamine and fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Samantha Elliott scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2024. The defendant was indicted on September 6, 2022, but pleaded guilty to a superseding information that included an additional drug charge.

On February 23, 2022, a New Hampshire State Trooper stopped a car in Concord on Interstate 93, in which the defendant was a passenger.  After the driver gave consent to search the car, law enforcement found numerous plastic baggies, a digital scale and a locked zipper pouch in the vicinity of the defendant.  The pouch was later searched pursuant to a warrant and contained roughly 45 grams of methamphetamine and 130 grams of fentanyl.  The defendant was carrying $3000 in cash, and he admitted that he intended to distribute the pouch of drugs to someone else.

Later, on August 23, 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant of the defendant’s camper in Manchester and found approximately 75 grams of methamphetamine in a plastic bag containing other smaller baggies.  The defendant admitted the methamphetamine was his.  The method of packaging and quantity of methamphetamine is indicative of distribution. 

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, at least three (3) years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Manchester Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron Gingrande and Matthew Hunter are prosecuting the case.  

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