Spencer Shawn Kain, 28, of Newton, was sentenced to serve seven to 10 years in prison following his conviction for trafficking fentanyl during Catawba County Superior Court on Thursday, January 29, 2026.
The Honorable Sherri W. Elliott, Superior Court Judge from Catawba County, imposed terms of the active sentence after Kain entered a guilty plea, along with a mandatory fine of $750,000.
The defendant will serve his period of incarceration in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
Investigators with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office received a tip about Kain’s activities from a person who was given drugs by the defendant that initiated an investigation with active surveillance.
On March 10, 2025, they followed Kain and a co-defendant to Charlotte and conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle for a fictitious tag. Drug paraphernalia was seen in plain view inside the vehicle, and a search was done. During the search, fentanyl and assorted pills were found and seized.
The substances were sent to the State Crime Lab for testing and were determined to be a trafficking amount of fentanyl.
The co-defendant’s case is still pending. He is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Ethan Fox handled the investigation for the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Taylor Rockett prosecuted the matter for the State with aid from Legal Assistant Britnee Ulsamer.