Charleston Man Faces Up to 20 Years for Role in Penobscot and Aroostook County Drug Trafficking

BANGOR, Maine: A Charleston man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Bangor today to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.

According to court records, between January 2018 and December 2021, Thomas Hammond, 24, conspired with others to traffic methamphetamine and fentanyl in Penobscot and Aroostook counties. Hammond knowingly and intentionally joined and participated in the conspiracy.

Hammond is the ninth defendant to plead guilty in this case; four other participants in the conspiracy were sentenced in prior related cases. Hammond faces up to 20 years imprisonment and up to a lifetime of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, investigated the case. Assistance was provided by police departments in Orono, Bangor, Brewer, Caribou, Presque Isle and Houlton. U.S. Attorney McElwee also recognized the cooperation and coordination provided by the Maine State Attorney General’s Office and the Aroostook County District Attorney’s Office.

Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces: This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

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