Mark Barrett brought the drug from Massachusetts a few times a week to sell in the Farmington area.

FARMINGTON — A Farmington man was sentenced Tuesday to serve three years of an eight-year sentence for bringing heroin from Massachusetts and selling it in the Farmington area in July 2016.

Mark Barrett, 60, entered an Alford plea in September 2017 in a negotiated agreement to felony charges of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs and illegal importation of scheduled drugs. An Alford plea is based on a defendant’s belief that he or she is not guilty, but would be found guilty if a jury believed the state’s evidence.

During a joint investigation by the Farmington Police Department and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, police intercepted Barrett’s car, driven by Guy Stevens, 42, of Temple, about midnight on July 14 on Lucy Knowles Road in Farmington.

Police executed a search warrant for the car and found a black bag hanging from the gear shift with 37 grams of heroin inside, Assistant Attorney General David Fisher had said.

Police also found a small amount of heroin under the seat, and a handgun, he said.

Police searched Barrett’s residence on Lucy Knowles Road in Farmington and found dozens of plastic bags laid out and a drug ledger with names and amounts listed in it, Fisher said.

Fisher told the court during co-defendant Stevens’ sentencing in April 2017 that the two men made the trip to Massachusetts two or three times a week and brought back about $5,000 worth of heroin each time.

Stevens pleaded guilty to a felony charge of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs. He is serving 30 months of an eight-year sentence for trafficking in heroin. Upon his release, he will serve two years of probation.

A third co-defendant, Chris Crockett, who was 56 and of Farmington when he was arrested in 2016, has not had his case resolved.

Barrett also agreed Tuesday to forfeit his 2006 Honda Accord and the 9 mm handgun in it when it was searched, Fisher told the court.

Retired-Active Justice Thomas Delahanty II sentenced Barrett to eight years at the Department of Corrections with all but 36 months suspended on the trafficking charge, followed by two years probation.

Barrett also was sentenced to three years on the illegal importation charge, which will be served at the same time as the trafficking sentence.

Barrett was ordered to pay a $1,030 fine within 18 months of his probation period.

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