A Catawba County jury has found 57-year-old Gregory Shawn Kain of Newton guilty of trafficking fentanyl, resulting in a prison sentence of seven to 10 years.
The verdict was returned Wednesday, July 15th after about two and a half hours of jury deliberations following a three-day trial. Superior Court Judge Karen Eady-Williams imposed the sentence and ordered Kain to pay the mandatory $750,000 fine required under North Carolina law.
The conviction stems from a March 10, 2025, traffic stop after investigators with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office had conducted surveillance on Kain and a co-defendant. Authorities say officers observed drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the vehicle, leading to a search that uncovered fentanyl, assorted pills and a large amount of cash. Testing by the State Crime Lab confirmed the fentanyl quantity met the threshold for a trafficking charge.
A co-defendant, Spencer Shawn Kain, Gregory Kain’s son, pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl in January and also received a prison sentence of seven to 10 years.
The case was investigated by the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office.
Story: Rob Eastwood-WHKY