Gregory Shawn Kain, 57, of Newton, will serve seven to 10 years in prison after he was found guilty of trafficking fentanyl by a Catawba County jury on Wednesday, July 15, 2026.
The sentence was imposed by Superior Court Karen Eady-Williams of Mecklenburg County after the jury returned its verdict around 5:40 p.m. following about two and a half hours of deliberation.
He also was assessed a mandatory fine of $750,000.
Kain will serve his sentence in custody of the North Carolina Division of Adult Corrections.
The trial started on Monay, July 13, 2026, with jury selection and covered three days.
Surveillance of Kain and a co-defendant, as well as a fictitious tag violation, led to a traffic stop of a motor vehicle driven by Kain on March 10, 2025. 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 along with a substantial amount of cash.
The substances were sent to the State Crime Lab for testing and were determined to be a trafficking amount of fentanyl.
A co-defendant in the case, Spencer Shawn Kain, entered a guilty plea to trafficking fentanyl in January 2026 and also was sentenced to serve seven to 10 years in prison. He is the son of Gregory Kain.
The investigation was led by Ethan Fox of the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Greer prosecuted the case for the State with assistance from Legal Assistant Stacey London