A 68-year-old Augusta man was found guilty of trafficking heroin after a two-day trial Tuesday.
Kelvin Laron Howard, 68, was convicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia.
Howard had lived at the Walton Oaks apartment complex, subsidized housing for seniors in east Augusta, according to court records.
“Kelvin Howard viewed Augusta as a wide-open market where he could profit from illegal drugs,” U.S. Attorney Jill Steinberg said in a statement.
A jury convicted Howard of possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Court documents and testimony showed police found enough heroin in Howard’s apartment for more than 700 individual doses, scales and packaging materials and a loaded semiautomatic pistol.
Howard faces up to 20 years in prison. He’ll be sentenced at a later date.
Susan McCord is a staff writer with The Augusta Press. Reach her at susan@theaugustapress.com
