ANCHORAGE – A federal jury convicted a Compton, California, man yesterday for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, attempted distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine, maintaining a place for drug purposes and illegally possessing firearms. The convictions followed a five-day jury trial before Chief United States District Judge Timothy M. Burgess.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Antoine Lapoleon Davis aka “Shorty,” 48, trafficked large amounts of methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine to Alaska through the U.S. mail and distributed it in the Anchorage area during 2017 and 2018.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed a search warrant on Davis’s Anchorage apartment on October 4, 2018, where they seized methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, four firearms and other drug dealing paraphernalia. Davis later told the FBI that he distributed nearly three kilograms of methamphetamine and half a kilogram of cocaine per month as well as heroin and crack cocaine. He also stated that he obtained the firearms found in his apartment to defend his drug supply. The firearms included three handguns and a semi-automatic rifle that Davis referred to as a “chopper.”
Davis also mailed two parcels containing drugs and guns that were intercepted by the U.S. Postal Inspectors in 2017. One parcel sent from Anchorage to Arizona contained methamphetamine, meth pills, and multiple firearms. The second package sent from California to Anchorage contained nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine and cocaine. Investigators linked Davis to the two parcels through forensic fingerprinting and handwriting analysis as well as post office surveillance footage.
Davis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of up to life in prison based on his prior criminal history and convictions of drug trafficking. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Wilson of the District of Alaska made the announcement.
The FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Anchorage Police Department (APD) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Tansey, Kayla Doyle and Jennifer Ivers prosecuted the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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