Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Harold Peters, III, 37, of Bradford, Maine pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute bath salts and being a felon in possession of firearms.
According to court records, the defendant joined a conspiracy that distributed the “bath salt" Alpha-PVP in Penobscot County between January 2012 and March 2014. The defendant helped acquire Alpha-PVP from China; got distribution size quantities of it from other conspirators; distributed it to dealers and users in the Bangor area; collected drug proceeds from customers and delivered it to his suppliers; and used cellular telephones to coordinate the criminal activity.
In March 2014, the defendant illegally possessed two Winchester rifles that he purchased from another conspirator in exchange for Alpha-PVP. The defendant was prohibited from possessing firearms because he had previously been convicted of three felony offenses (unlawful sexual contact, trafficking in prison contraband, and failure to comply with sex offender registry act). The firearms were recovered from a family member’s residence where the defendant stored them.
On the drug charge, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison, a $1,000,000 fine, and between three years and life of supervised release. On the gun charge, he faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the New Haven (Connecticut) Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
