Concord, NH – Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and Ossipee Police Chief Joseph Duchesne announce that Eliot Steele (age 33), was convicted of possession of carfentanil, subsequent offense on July 31, 2019, following a two-day jury trial in the Carroll County Superior Court. Sentencing in Mr. Steele's case is scheduled for October 4, 2019.

The charge against Mr. Steele stemmed from the execution of a search warrant on a vehicle by law enforcement on May 4, 2017, in which Mr. Steele had been a passenger. The vehicle was driven by Mr. Steele's wife. A substance, later determined to be carfentanil, was found in the glovebox of the vehicle. Instrumentalities of drug use were found throughout the vehicle as well.

Carfentanil is a synthetic opioid approximately 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl. The maximum possible penalty for possession of a controlled drug as a subsequent offense is 7½-15 years in prison and a $200,000 fine.

The successful prosecution of this case was the result of a joint investigation and collaboration by the Ossipee Police Department and the New Hampshire State Police.

Senior Assistant Attorney General Danielle Sakowski and Assistant Attorney General Sean Locke prosecuted this case.