Monday, August 03, 2020

South Berwick Man Sentenced for Possession of Fentanyl and Cocaine

PORTLAND, Maine:  A South Berwick man was sentenced today in federal court in Portland for possession of fentanyl and cocaine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank announced.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Stephen Kissh, 54, to three years in prison and three years of supervised release. Kissh pleaded guilty on January 27, 2020.

According to court records, on January, 2, 2019, Kissh was arrested at his residence, a camper in South Berwick, Maine. South Berwick police officers responded to the residence after receiving a request to conduct a welfare check on another person at the location who was believed to be under the influence of drugs. Officers were familiar with Kissh, and were aware that he was on bail for Maine drug trafficking charges. Upon arriving at the camper, officers discovered Kissh and several other individuals inside, one of whom appeared to be under the influence of drugs but did not require medical attention. Officers searched Kissh and found him to be in possession of four plastic bags containing fentanyl and cocaine. The officers searched Kissh’s camper and recovered a safe that contained multiple plastic bags of fentanyl and cocaine.

The South Berwick Police Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case as part of the Department of Justice’s Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge, a program designed to reduce the supply of deadly synthetic opioids.

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