Merrimack Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking and Firearm Charges

             CONCORD - Kyle Mehlhorn, 28, of Merrimack, pleaded guilty on Friday in federal court to multiple drug trafficking and firearm charges, Acting United States Attorney John J. Farley announced today.

            According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 27, 2020, Manchester police officers observed a vehicle with wrongfully attached license plates and made a traffic stop.  Mehlhorn was the driver and he had a female passenger.  A records check of Mehlhorn revealed his license and registration were suspended and he was placed under arrest.  The passenger was cooperative and identified her belongings in the vehicle.  On November 2, 2020, after obtaining a search warrant, Manchester police officers searched the vehicle and found over 209 grams of methamphetamine, over 28 grams of fentanyl, various items used in drug packaging, $13,800 in cash, and two loaded firearms.  At the time of his arrest, Mehlhorn was a previously convicted felon and was prohibited from possessing firearms.

            In January of 2021, Mehlhorn was arrested in Boston on a complaint from the District of New Hampshire.  Mehlhorn was armed with a 9 mm handgun and was carrying a backpack containing over 196 grams of methamphetamine and over 187 grams of fentanyl.  A subsequent search warrant for the vehicle revealed an additional .22 caliber handgun. 

            Mehlhorn is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1, 2021.  He will forfeit the firearms and cash seized in January of 2021.  The money and firearms seized in October of 2020 have already been forfeited.

            “Armed drug dealers present a clear threat to public safety,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Farley.  “Given the deadly risks posed by fentanyl and methamphetamine, this defendant’s drug trafficking endangered the community.  Because he was armed with multiple firearms, this defendant’s criminal conduct could have jeopardized many additional lives.  As this case demonstrates, we work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute armed drug traffickers so we can protect residents of the Granite States from violent crime.”

            “This case shows our unrelenting determination to eradicate the drug-fueled violence plaguing New Hampshire at the hands of previously convicted felons like Kyle Mehlhorn who continually demonstrate why they are a serious threat to public safety,” said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division. “In order to reduce violent crime, the FBI’s New Hampshire Safe Streets Task Force will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to do everything it can to stop the flow of illegal narcotics and firearms onto our streets.”

            This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the New Hampshire State Police, the Manchester Police Department, the Concord Police Department, the Gorham Police Department, and the Boston (MA) Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Rombeau.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Rabuck assisted with forfeiture aspects of this matter.