New Hampshire Man Sentenced To 63 Months On Firearm And Drug Charges

          CONCORD, N.H. – Robert Pierre, 35, of Rochester, New Hampshire, was sentenced yesterday in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, announced Acting United States Attorney Donald Feith.  The Court imposed a term of 63 months imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

          On February 1, 2014, NHSP Trooper Haden Wilber conducted a vehicle stop of a gray, 2002 Volvo S60 with a NH registration in Durham, New Hampshire.  The operator was Robert Pierre. While standing at the vehicle’s door, Trooper Wilber smelled the distinct odor of fresh marijuana.

          A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle and law enforcement found several baggies of illegal drugs in a jacket on the front passenger seat and within the trunk.  Law enforcement also found three digital scales and a Taurus .22 caliber handgun.  The drugs were individually wrapped and the scales had a powder-like residue and a residue consistent with marijuana. The drugs were analyzed and tested positive for marijuana, methylone, crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin and benzylpiperazine (BZP).

          On July 22, 2002, the defendant was convicted of Breaking & Entering in the Night-time with intent to Commit a Felony in Cambridge, Massachusetts District Court, Docket Number 0152CR003296, a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year.  Based on this conviction, Pierre was a prohibited person who could not legally possess a firearm.

          The case was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra M. Walsh.