City man gets 5 years on drug, gun charges

CONCORD, N.H. - A Rochester man will be spending more than five years in prison after being sentenced on drug and firearm charges on Tuesday in federal court.

Robert Pierre, 35, was sentenced Tin the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.

Pierre's arrest in February 2014 came as a result of a traffic stop by State Trooper Haden Wilber on a 2002 Volvo S60 operated by Pierre.

While standing at the vehicle's door, Trooper Wilber smelled the distinct odor of fresh marijuana. A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle and law enforcement found several baggies of illegal drugs in a jacket on the front passenger seat and within the trunk. Law enforcement also found three digital scales and a Taurus .22 caliber handgun. The drugs were individually wrapped and the scales had a powder-like residue and a residue consistent with marijuana.

The drugs were analyzed and tested positive for marijuana, methylone, crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin and benzylpiperazine (BZP).

The defendant was convicted in 2002 for felony breaking and entering in Cambridge, Mass., District Court, so Pierre was a prohibited person who could not legally possess a firearm.