Charles Daye, age 28, last known address, 52 Bowers Street, Nashua

CONCORD – Former Nashua resident Charles Daye, who over the past decade or so has been arrested several times, mainly on drug-related allegations, was sentenced last week to a 35-month federal prison term, according to U.S. Attorney Scott W. Murray.

Daye, 28, had entered guilty pleas in October 2020 to charges of possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and distribution of fentanyl, which Murray said stem from allegations of drug possession and sale of drugs in Nashua in the latter part of 2019.

Court documents and statements made in court state that Nashua police, in October 2019, pulled over a car Daye was driving, and subsequently located fentanyl and cash in his possession.

“Evidence located on (Daye’s) cellphone, as well as his admissions, confirmed that he was distributing fentanyl in Nashua,” Murray said.

About two months later, Murray said, a cooperating individual working with law enforcement officers made controlled purchases of fentanyl from Daye.

Those transactions, Murray said, took place on Dec. 17, 2019 and Jan. 16, 2020.

Meanwhile, Daye’s most significant arrest came in November 2017, following a nearly two-month police investigation into the near-death of a 1-year-old child at an Elm Street residence.

According to reports at the time, Daye was babysitting the 1-year-old and another young child while their mother, with whom Daye was in a relationship, was at work.

When she returned home, she told police she had to bang on the door several times before Daye answered. He reportedly told her he had been sleeping.

When the mother went to check on the children, she found the 1-year-old “unconscious, not breathing … and his skin was blue,” according to police reports.

When her attempts to revive the child failed, Daye “grabbed him and ran him to the hospital,” the reports state.

Daye then left the hospital, police said, and was later found back at the Elm Street apartment.

Due to the child’s condition, he was transferred to a Boston hospital. When he was released several days later, police said, doctors said they expected him to make a full recovery.

Daye would end up facing a series of charges from the incident. The case later moved to federal court.

Murray credited Nashua police for their work on the investigation into the incident that led to Daye’s arrest, and he underscored the harm caused by narcotics like fentanyl and other illegal drugs.

“Fentanyl trafficking is a crime that can have deadly consequences,” Murray said. “In order to protect public health and safety, Operation SOS is targeting the fentanyl dealers whose actions are damaging Nashua and other communities in Hillsborough County,” he added, referring to Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge, the federal program launched in 2018 to combat the distribution of illegal drugs.

“We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify, prosecute, and incarcerate the drug dealers who are distributing fentanyl and other dangerous drugs in the Granite State,” Murray said.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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