United States Drug Enforcement Administration

PORTLAND, Maine - Michael J. Ferguson Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England and United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Ashley Gross, 26, - of Peaks Island, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Nancy Torresen to three years in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute heroin. Gross pleaded guilty on March 11, 2015.

According to court records, from at least March 2013 through November 2013, Gross was part of a drug trafficking organization that distributed heroin and cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine, from several residences in the Portland area.  Conspirators brought heroin and crack cocaine from out-of-state suppliers to the residences.  Conspirators fielded telephone calls from drug customers for the drugs.  The drugs were delivered to customers by runners, including Gross, who met with customers and exchanged the drugs for money.  Runners brought the drug proceeds back to the residence and they were thereafter sent to the out-of-state suppliers.

This case results from a joint investigation conducted by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Portland Police Department.