Credit card fraud charge follows recent drug indictment

Stephen E. Ricker (Rochester Police photo)

DOVER - A Lebanon man indicted last month on fentanyl possession charges was indicted again, this time for fraudulent use of a credit card, a charge that carries up to a seven-year prison sentence.

Stephen E. Ricker, 27, of 672 River Road, was formally charged in the fraudulent use of a credit card in Strafford County between Dec. 3 and Jan. 16 with those goods or items bought costing more than $1,500, while allegedly not having the permission to use the card from its owner.

The indictment handed down Aug. 18 follows close on the heels of a July indictment that accused him of being in possession of a drug determined to be fentanyl on Nov. 18 in Somersworth.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 30 times more powerful than heroin and is believed to be one of the main contributors to an epidemic of deadly drug overdoses in New Hampshire and Maine this year.

The fentanyl charge also carries a seven-year maximum prison term.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt, only that enough evidence has been gathered to warrant a trial.