New Bedford Man Gets State Prison for Fentanyl, Cocaine Bust

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — A New Bedford man has been sentenced to up to three and a half years in state prison after he was convicted on drug charges this week.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III announced today that Keither Parson, 53, was convicted on August 4 after pleading guilty in Fall River Superior Court to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine as well as conspiracy charges.

He was sentenced to serve three to three and a half years in state prison.

Police Surveillance Leads to Search Warrant

On January 24, 2023, New Bedford Police searched Parson’s apartment at 40 Russell Street after obtaining a search warrant based on seeing people going to his apartment for what appeared to be drug purchases.

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Wife Caught in Bathroom Attempting to Flush Drugs

Police detained Parson as he was exiting the apartment and brought him back inside. There, they found Parson’s wife, Lainie Silva, “seated fully clothed on the bathroom toilet, attempting to flush drugs,” according to the D.A.’s Office.

She too was detained, and 24 bags of suspected drugs were seized from the toilet bowl.

Items Seized During Apartment Search

A search of the apartment turned up 13.4 grams of fentanyl, 17.96 grams of cocaine, a digital scale, $96 in cash and other items associated with packaging drugs for street sale.

Silva previously pleaded guilty in New Bedford District Court to possession with the intent to distribute narcotics and received a suspended sentence.

Parson had posted bail on this case but later had it revoked due to being charged with a new drug offense in New Bedford District Court.

History of Drug Convictions and Prior Arrests

Parson has a history of drug convictions and previously served time in both the Bristol County House of Correction and in federal prison.

In September 2015, Parson faced four drug charges after police searched his apartment and found six individual bags of heroin, two bags of crack cocaine and $139 in cash. This was after he had been found guilty of a prior offense in federal court in Boston.

In August 2017, he was charged with two counts of possession of a Class E substance with intent to distribute, possession of a Class E substance and arrested on a warrant charge after police raided his apartment and found 31 pills, packaging materials and a digital scale.