JUNEAU – A Washington state man was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess to eight years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.

According to court documents, Roderick Ayers, 33, personally packaged 10 ounces of methamphetamine in a box which he then shipped within a pallet of tires to Juneau on January 31, 2018. A week later the Juneau Police Department (JPD) learned that a known local drug user was acting strangely and attempting to pick up the pallet of tires sent by Ayers. JPD obtained a search warrant for the pallet and found the box of methamphetamine and Ayers’ fingerprint on the drug package. On February 18, a confidential informant in Juneau contacted Ayers to purchase an ounce of heroin for $1,800. The informant electronically transferred the money to Ayers who then shipped the heroin via the U.S. Postal Service.

“Individuals like Ayers and the illicit drugs that are shipped to Alaska leave a trail of destruction in our communities and we will not idly standby and watch,” said U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “Today’s sentence sends a message that we take drug trafficking crimes very seriously in Alaska and we will continue to vigorously prosecute traffickers, wherever they may live, for their illegal actions.”  

“The defendant exploited critical industries in Alaska to import and sell significant quantities of illicit narcotics in the Juneau region, which has been ravaged by the damaging effects of drug trafficking,” said Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “The harm caused by the distribution and use of drugs such as methamphetamine and heroin in Alaskan communities is devastating and the FBI continues to collaborate with local, state, federal, and tribal law enforcement partners to stem the tide of this systemic and widespread abuse.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Juneau Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt prosecuted the case.

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