PORTLAND — A Massachusetts man involved in a drug overdose in Auburn in 2017 was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to 2 1/2 years in prison for possessing a firearm after he was convicted of a felony.
Jonathan Lara, 29, pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2018, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Portland.
Lara was also sentenced to three years of supervised release after he is freed.
Lara, Jamel James Johnson, 29, and Tania Howell, 59, all of Lynn, Massachusetts, were arrested in August 2017 after an investigation into a drug overdose on Center Street in Auburn.
Police were led to a room at the Ramada Hotel & Conference Center by Wyndham in Lewiston, where they found Lara, another suspect, illegal drugs valued at $9,000, nearly $9,000 in cash and a stolen gun.
Scott J. Pelletier, commander of the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, said drug agents recovered 26 grams of fentanyl, 13 grams of cocaine base, 20 grams of cocaine and several methadone pills.
Lara was prohibited from possessing the firearm because he had been convicted of felony larceny and armed robbery in Massachusetts in 2009, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; and the Auburn and Lewiston police departments.
mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net
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