New Hampshire man sentenced to 15 years in prison for methamphetamine trafficking

Date: March 3, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

BOSTON - An Atkinson, NH, man has been sentenced in federal court in Boston for possessing nearly 10 pounds of methamphetamine pills. Defendant led police on car chase at speeds in excess of 110 mph on Interstate 95.

Walter Norton was sentenced on Feb. 25, 2026, by Senior U.S. District Judge William G. Young to 15 years in prison, to be followed by 10 years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. In May 2025, Norton was convicted by a jury of one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.

On April 3, 2024, law enforcement conducting a large-scale money laundering investigation observed Norton arrive at the residence of co-defendant Jason Hunter in Revere. After Norton left the residence, law enforcement attempted to execute a traffic stop car on Interstate 95. Norton fled at speeds in excess of 110 miles per hour, driving on the left shoulder of the highway. He hit the median and another vehicle, breaking the axel of his own car, which came to rest in the center lane of the highway facing the wrong direction. Norton then fled on foot carrying a bag of over 15,000 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine, which weighed 4.4 kilograms. He was subsequently apprehended.

Searches of Hunter's residence and vehicle resulted in the seizure of over 16 kilograms of counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine, thousands of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, additional pills containing oxycodone, over a kilogram of cocaine and multiple kilograms of marijuana as well as $100,000 in drug proceeds.

On Jan. 8, 2026, Hunter was sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Ferguson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alathea Porter of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Boston is comprised of agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, IRS-CI, USPIS, DOL-OIG and DSS, as well as several state and local law enforcement agencies, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.