Loudon man pleads guilty to meth trafficking

CONCORD — A Loudon man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Tuesday to a drug trafficking charge, U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray announced today.

Randy Barton, 49, was arrested on April 11 for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

According to court documents and statements made in court, a New Hampshire State Trooper was patrolling Interstate 93 in Canterbury. After observing a car commit a traffic infraction, the trooper stopped the car and approached it. A woman, Katie-Jo Waters, was driving the car, and Barton was in the front seat. After making numerous observations of Waters and Barton and detecting inconsistencies in their stories, the trooper asked Barton to step out of the vehicle, and conducted a pat-down search. He subsequently recovered two plastic baggies containing 15½ grams (0.55 ounces) of highly pure methamphetamine from one of Barton’s pants pockets.

Barton is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15.

Waters previously pleaded guilty in federal court on July 24 to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. She is also scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15.

This case was investigated by the New Hampshire State Police, DEA, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John S. Davis and Shane B. Kelbley.

This case was supported by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. The task force program is a federal multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force that supplies supplemental federal funding to federal and state agencies involved in the identification, investigation, and prosecution of major drug trafficking organizations.