A Rhode Island man is facing up to 15 years in state prison after being found guilty of fentanyl possession with intent to deliver, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta announced Tuesday.
The DA’s office said Juan Ramon Sepedro Encarnacion, 37, of Central Falls, R.I., was stopped by Pennsylvania State Police on I-78 in Williams Township on March 25, 2022, for numerous traffic violations. During a subsequent search of his vehicle, troopers discovered a brown paper bag containing a kilogram of fentanyl, with a street value of over $250,000, hidden inside the back panel of the front passenger seat. The fentanyl was vacuum-sealed and could have been divided into 30,000 bagged units for sale, according to police.
Sepedro Encarnacion was found guilty by a jury after a two-day trial and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16.
He was represented at trial by attorney James Connell of Bethlehem, according to his case docket.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.