Easton heroin trafficker sentenced to prison in Fall River court

A 35-year-old Easton heroin trafficker will serve the next two to five years in state prison, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced today.

James Kim pleaded guilty in Fall River Superior Court on January 6th to indictments charging him with trafficking in excess of 18 grams of heroin and possession of Suboxone.

In the Spring and Summer of 2018, the Easton Police Department received information that the defendant was selling heroin in the area. Police began to surveil the defendant and observed him travel to known drug users residences to make what they believed to be narcotics transactions. In addition, Easton Police conducted three controlled buys of heroin from the defendant using a confidential informant.

Based on the surveillance and the controlled buys, the Easton Police were granted a search warrant for the defendant’s house. When the search warrant was executed, the defendant was attempting to leave his house. He was detained and brought into the residence where the police searched his bedroom. In the bedroom, the police located approximately nine grams of heroin, $1,400 in cash, two Suboxone strips and numerous other prescription pills in a large bottle. In addition, the police located four digital scales, numerous plastic bags, a pill cutter and several hollow cans commonly used to hide narcotics. The police also noted that the defendant’s cell phone was constantly ringing with phone calls and text messages from people who wanted to buy heroin from the defendant.

The defendant was arrested and brought back to the Easton Police Station. During a routine booking process, Easton Police discovered an additional 18 grams of heroin hidden in the defendant’s underwear.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Jason Mohan and the state prison sentence was imposed by Judge Raffi Yessayan.

“I want to thank Easton Police for their thorough investigation that led to the arrest of the defendant for trafficking heroin. Selling heroin, which is usually mixed with Fentanyl, is directly related to the increase in fatal overdoses in our communities,” District Attorney Quinn said.