Synthetic Fentanyl Dealer, New Hampshire Fugitive Arrested In Rochester: U.S. Marshals

CONCORD, NH — Last week’s fugitive of the week has been arrested, according to the New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Task Force.

Michael Lee Rand, 37, a felon with an extensive criminal history dating back to 2009, was arrested on Saturday in Rochester. He was out on supervised release after being convicted in U.S. District Court on a sale of synthetic narcotics-fentanyl charge. While out though, Rand was accused of violating his supervised release, specifically, not adhering to a requirement to notify the court when he changed his address.

“Rand was last known to live in Rochester, NH, and the court issued an arrest warrant on Sept. 9 after repeated efforts by U.S. Probation Officers to contact Rand were not returned,” Andrew Grillo, a member of the task force, said.

Officers in Rochester encountered Rand on Saturday, and he was arrested after being accused of initially trying to avoid identification, he said.

“The U.S. Marshals Service would like to thank the Rochester Police Department, as our local, county, and state counterparts are the bedrock of law enforcement in this country,” Grillo said. “We are always grateful for the sacrifices they make to keep the communities we live in safe.”

Rand is a felon due to acts prohibited convictions out of Rochester from December 2009. About nine months later, he was convicted on violation of probation charges. Rand was convicted of another violation of probation charge in December 2011. That month, he also pleaded guilty to an acts prohibited charge out of Somersworth.

In December 2014, Rand was back in superior court on felony theft charges out of Rochester and drug possession and other charges out of Dover. He pleaded guilty to a theft charge and a drug charge in June 2015. A violation of probation charge followed in September 2016.

Rand was charged with reckless operation, conduct after an accident, driving after revocation or suspension, and a drug possession charge in November 2017 after an incident the year before in Somersworth. In April 2019, he was charged with theft after another incident in Rochester. Rand pleaded to the accident and theft charges in October 2019.

A felony drug charge out of Rochester from September 2019 was nolle prossed later.

In Seabrook, in September 2019, he was accused of felony theft again. After a lengthy court process, he pleaded guilty to the charge on July 28 and received a suspended sentence.

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