Tucker to Serve 8 to 16 Years

By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — Former Claremont resident, Antwaun Tucker, has been sentenced to between eight and 16 years for charges stemming from an arrest earlier this year.

Tucker was arrested in March, along with his accomplice Christopher Fields, after the New Hampshire Drug Task Force determined the men to be “drug enterprise leaders”.

Tucker, formerly of 5 School Street in Claremont, was sentenced for two felony drug charges, as well as being charged with felon in possession of a firearm. Sullivan County Superior Court Justice Martin Honinberg sentenced Tucker to eight to 16 years in the New Hampshire State Prison for conspiracy to sell heroin/fentanyl in an amount of more than five grams. Tucker also received a concurrent sentence three and a half to seven years in state prison for being a felon in the possession of a firearm. Tucker also received a 10-20 year sentence for a subsequent charge of possession of more than five grams of crack cocaine. This sentencing was suspended for Tucker on the condition of good behavior for no less than a period of 25 years. Both the sentences for the charges of felon in possession of a firearm and the subsequent possession of crack cocaine were negotiated plea agreements with the court and attorney’s office.

Tucker and Fields were arrested after a month-long investigation involving multiple law enforcement agencies. Investigators say that at the time the two men were arrested they had been large scale drug suppliers in Claremont for roughly six years before being caught. According to an affidavit, the men had rented two separate apartments at the 5 School Street location for the purposes of storing and selling drugs.

A detective the the NHDTF was able to facilitate several controlled purchases of illegal drugs through a confidential informant who knew the two men. The men would work seemingly in shifts, as Fields would often travel by train or bus to New York City to purchase large quantities of drugs for redistribution, while Tucker stayed at the apartments to make sales in Fields’ absence.

According to the affidavit, aside from traveling to NYC, mostly the two men wouldn’t leave the apartments and have customers do their errands. They were reportedly bringing in $10,000 a week from their enterprise. After they were each arrested as a result of NHDTF executing different warrants, Fields claimed he “lived an expensive lifestyle” and was using some of the funds from drug sales to purchase gold which he was keeping in a “safe place”. At the time of his arrest, Fields was found to have 600 “bags” of heroin, having just returned from a trip to NYC. Tucker was arrested without incident at the School Street apartments which contained illegal drugs, roughly $13,000 in cash and multiple hidden firearms that Fields claimed were traded for drugs.

At Fields’ hearing he explained to the judge that he had gotten in over his head and was a good person. Fields was sentenced to 15-30 years in the New Hampshire State Prison in August by Judge Brian Tucker. He will be eligible for release in 12 years.