A judge sentenced Thomas Drake, 35, of New Hampton, on Nov. 6 to 7 1/2 to 15 years in the New Hampshire State Prison for drug trafficking and weapons offenses. The Attorney General's office, which announced the sentence, says the Belknap County Superior Court sentence stems from four separate drug investigations and involved a combined total of more than 300 grams of fentanyl and more than 100 grams of methamphetamine.
Two kinds of time
The sentence has two parts. The 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison is what the release calls his stand-committed sentence, the time he is ordered to serve.
The second part is suspended time: consecutive (back-to-back) sentences totaling 15 to 30 years. A suspended sentence is prison time a court sets but does not require the person to serve unless a judge later orders it. In this case it stays suspended for 10 years after Drake's release from prison, according to the release. The release does not list conditions.
What he pleaded guilty to
Drake pleaded guilty to four counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled drug, which covered the fentanyl and methamphetamine. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a dangerous weapon, involving two separate sets of metallic knuckles, and to four more felony counts of possession of a controlled drug.
Attorney General John Formella said in the release that fentanyl and methamphetamine "continue to pose a serious threat to communities across New Hampshire." The release credits the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Hampshire State Police and the Gilford and New Hampton police departments with the investigative work, and says Attorney Whit Skinner of the Drug Prosecution Unit prosecuted the cases.
The release does not include a statement from Drake or his attorney.
