A Portsmouth, New Hampshire resident has been sentenced for distributing fentanyl. Jerome Hovey Leclair, aged 39, received a sentence of 38 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release from U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen. Leclair had pleaded guilty on July 11, 2024.
Court records reveal that in April 2023, under the guidance of the Berwick Police Department, a cooperating source met with Leclair at his residence to discuss purchasing counterfeit Oxycodone pills. During this meeting, the informant observed several plastic bags containing small blue pills and received one pill as a sample from Leclair. In June 2023, Leclair agreed to sell the informant 100 pills and offered an additional 25 free to increase potential profits from resale. This conversation was recorded, and surveillance was set up before the controlled purchase at both Leclair’s residence and the designated meeting location. An undercover officer transported the informant to complete the transaction.
In July 2023, an undercover officer initiated contact with Leclair via text message to negotiate another pill purchase in Kittery. The transaction was documented through video and audio recordings. On July 7, 2023, New Hampshire State Police stopped Leclair's vehicle in Seabrook, N.H., recovering approximately 500 blue circular pills along with about 30 grams of methamphetamine. In August 2023, further negotiations led to two more completed purchases by the informant in New Hampshire.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Berwick Police Department with support from New Hampshire State Police.