Michael Brownell Sentenced on Sale of Controlled Drug and Felon in Possession Charges

Concord, NH - Attorney General John M. Formella announces that Michael Brownell, of Franklin, New Hampshire, has been sentenced by the Merrimack County Superior Court on five counts of Sale of a Controlled Drug, Subsequent Offense, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Mr. Brownell was also sentenced for violating the terms of his probation on a previous case.

After the defendant pleaded guilty, the court sentenced the defendant to serve 15 to 30 years in state prison on the Sale of a Controlled Drug, Subsequent Offense charges, with three years of the minimum sentence suspended upon successful completion of certain programming while incarcerated. The sentences on each of these five charges will run concurrent with each other. On the charges of being a felon in possession, the court sentenced the defendant to 3 ½ to 7 years in state prison, all of which is suspended for ten years from today's date.

On a separate case, the defendant admitted that he had violated the terms of his probation, and the court imposed a previously suspended sentence of 6 to 12 years in state prison. This sentence will run concurrently with the sentences for the Sale of a Controlled Drug, Subsequent Offense charges.

The evidence in this case established that between December of 2024 and January of 2025, Mr. Brownell made five sales of fentanyl to a confidential informant. In the aggregate, the defendant sold approximately 475 grams of fentanyl. When he was arrested, the defendant was found to be in possession of two firearms, despite having previously been convicted of a felony.

The investigation and resolution of these cases were the result of collaborative efforts of the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office and the New Hampshire State Police's Narcotics and Investigations Unit.