ROCKLAND — A 25-year-old Rockland man was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he pleaded guilty to selling oxycodone. He will also forfeit nearly $140,000 accumulated in drug trafficking earnings.

Ashley J. Hunt pleaded guilty March 25 in Knox County Superior Court to one count of trafficking in oxycodone. Justice Daniel Billings sentenced Billings to four years in prison with all but 30 days suspended. Hunt was also placed on probation for two years.

Hunt was arrested Jan. 23 and released on bail until his initial court appearance on Wednesday.

The Maine Drug Enforcement Agency’s investigation began in 2013, when court documents said they learned that Hunt had been dealing hundreds of oxycodone 30-milligram pills per month throughout the Midcoast area for the past several years. After further investigation, an informant stated that Hunt was his primary supplier of oxycodone, and they learned his drug trafficking had allowed him to buy a pickup truck, a motorcycle, a snowmobile and accumulate a large amount of cash, according to court documents.

As part of the investigation, Hunt was placed under surveillance and was observed conducting a suspected drug deal at the Rockland waterfront. MDEA agents followed an individual who received the drugs from Hunt, and stopped him in his vehicle at a business in Thomaston.

According to court documents, the man stated that he had met with Hunt to purchase oxycodone from him. He turned over to agents more than four 30-milligram oxycodone pills that he said he purchased from Hunt. Also according to the document, MDEA agents then asked the man to call Hunt to meet again and purchase more oxycodone, a transaction that ultimately involved another exchange in Thomaston.

When apprehended, Hunt admitted to police that he had been selling the drugs on a regular basis for the past three years.

The affidavit filed by the MDEA in Rockland District Court stated that Hunt used his drug trafficking earnings to support a “lavish lifestyle.”

While executing a search warrant at bank where Hunt rented a safety deposit box, agents found and seized 57 $100 U.S. savings bonds, $22,900 in cash, a bank check for $52,286, a bank check for $57,349.06, assorted coins, antique money and jewelry.

MDEA agents also searched Hunt’s residence on Park Street in Rockland, where he lived with his grandmother, according to court documents. There, they discovered several loaded handguns and also seized Hunt’s truck for being used during a drug transaction.

MDEA agent Scott Quintero lead the investigation with assistance from the Rockland and Thomaston police departments.

Attorney Eric Morse of Rockland represented Hunt and Assistant Attorney General Katie Sibley prosecuted the case.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com