Woman Arrested For Selling Drug That Killed Portsmouth Man: Cops

PORTSMOUTH, NH — A New Hampshire woman was arrested yesterday on drug charges after a multi-month investigation into the death of a local man, according to police. Kelly Barry, 31, of Dover, was arrested on July 12, 2017, for sale of a controlled drug, death resulting, and sale of controlled drug-fentanyl. Police allege that the drug led to a fatal overdose that killed Patrick Swain, 32, of Portsmouth, in January.

Editor’s Note: This post was derived from information supplied by the Portsmouth Police Department. It does not indicate a conviction. This link explains the name removal request process for NH Patch police reports.

Barry was arrested by Dover Police on a Portsmouth warrant, according to Sgt. John Peracchi of the Portsmouth Police Department. She reportedly met with Swain in Dover on Jan 16, and allegedly sold him the fentanyl, Peracchi stated.

“Swain ingested that fentanyl, suffered an acute intoxication from the fentanyl, which caused a fatal overdose at his residence in Portsmouth,” he alleged.

Barry was arrested and held without bail. She will be arraigned tomorrow.

Peracchi noted that the arrest was a culmination of a joint investigation by police in Portsmouth and Dover as well as the DEA.

Swain, according to his obituary, was born and raised in Portsmouth, attended Mount Washington College as a psychology student, and was an avid sports fan.

Barry, according to a report on Patch, was recently indicted in Rockingham County Superior Court for possession of a controlled drug-fentanyl allegedly on Jan. 19, in Greenland. She was arrested in Lawrence, MA, according to the Eagle-Tribune, in December 2014 on an illegal possession of a Class A substance charge and a warrant.