A Methuen man is headed to federal prison for a decade after a Thursday sentencing that capped a sprawling pill case stretching from North Billerica to his own front door. Prosecutors say he pushed counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine and kept firearms close at hand. The investigation featured undercover buys in North Billerica and a controlled purchase at his Methuen home that turned up hundreds of fake pills, a pill press and multiple guns. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns ordered 10 years behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release, and prosecutors said many of the seized pills were later found to contain fentanyl, sharply raising the public health risk.
Federal Court Hands Down Decade In Prison
Shawn Hart, 45, received a 10-year prison sentence from Judge Stearns, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Hart had pleaded guilty in October 2025 to distributing more than 40 grams of fentanyl and to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. He also admitted to using a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking offense and to being a felon in possession of ammunition. Those charges and the sentencing details were outlined in a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts.
Undercover Buys, Pill Press And Ghost Gun
According to investigators, Hart was identified in August 2022 as a manufacturer and distributor of counterfeit pills on the North Shore. On Sept. 15, 2022, he allegedly sold about 500 counterfeit Adderall pills during a controlled purchase in North Billerica, pills that prosecutors say contained roughly 68 grams of fentanyl. On June 1, 2023, Hart is accused of distributing about 100 counterfeit oxycodone pills containing suspected fentanyl and providing a 9mm privately manufactured "ghost gun" loaded with 19 rounds during a buy at his Methuen residence. Agents later seized a pill press, three more firearms and suspected narcotics from the home, as reported by WHAV.
Prosecutors Sought Longer Term, Defense Pushed For 10 Years
Federal prosecutors urged the court to go far higher, asking for a 16-year sentence and writing in their filings that Hart "has engaged in reckless and dangerous conduct." Hart’s attorney, Michal Tumposky, countered with a request for a 10-year term, according to the Boston Herald. In the end, Judge Stearns landed on the defense’s number and imposed the decade-long sentence.
Signs Of A Wider Pattern On The North Shore
Hart’s case is not a one-off. It fits into a wider federal crackdown on counterfeit-pill manufacturing and distribution across the North Shore. Earlier this year, a Saugus defendant drew a 19-year federal sentence, and other North Shore dealers have been hit with double-digit prison terms, the Boston Globe reports. Prosecutors and federal agents have increasingly turned to multi-agency undercover stings to locate pill presses and take apart the networks moving laced pills.
What This Means Legally
Hart’s convictions include a count under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) for using a firearm in relation to a drug-trafficking crime, a statute that carries mandatory minimum sentences and requires those terms to run consecutive to the underlying drug sentence, according to the Legal Information Institute. The U.S. Attorney's Office also noted that Hart was barred from possessing firearms because of multiple prior state felony convictions from 2003–2004. He was indicted in August 2023 and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Wray of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit.
