ANCHORAGE – An Oregon man was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 16 years in prison for drug conspiracy and assault of a corrections officer.

According to court documents, Michael Hindman, 32, mailed multiple packages of heroin and methamphetamine to a local drug dealer in Unalaska, during 2019. In return, the local dealer mailed Hindman boxes of cash to pay for the drugs. One specific package Hindman sent on October 9, 2019, contained 93 grams of heroin. This heroin was divided and sold to individuals throughout the Unalaska community. On October 16 an individual who had received a baggie of the heroin was found deceased in a local hotel room. The medical examiner confirmed that the individual had died of a heroin overdose. The investigation led to Hindman, who was living in Oregon, as the distributor of the heroin to Unalaska.

Hindman was arrested in November 2019 on the federal drug charge. While being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex in June 2020, Hindman assaulted an Alaska Department of Corrections Officer which required emergency room treatment.

Hindman pleaded guilty to both charges in August 2021.

“The US Attorney’s office and our law-enforcement partners will not stand by while drug dealers peddle their poison and kill Alaskans,” said U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. of the District of Alaska. “This heavy sentence should be a warning to anyone considering trafficking in opioids, even from outside the state.”

“The sentencing of Michael Hindman removes a dangerous criminal from the streets and provides closure to the family of his victim. The shipment of illegal narcotics has no place in the US Postal Service and the State of Alaska.” said Inspector in Charge Anthony Galetti, “The US Postal Inspection Service is determined to investigate those who use the US Mail in support of their criminal activities. We thank our state, local and federal partners for their support and efforts in this investigation.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service and the Unalaska Department of Public Safety investigated the drug conspiracy case. The U.S. Marshal Service investigated the assault with assistance from Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Department of Corrections.

Criminal Chief, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Sherman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Vandergaw prosecuted the case.

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