Anchorage man guilty on drug trafficking, firearm charges

Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) - A federal jury convicted an Anchorage man on two felony drug counts and two firearm charges after a five-day trial.

33-year-old Jerod Alexander was found guilty of possessing and distributing large amounts of illegal drugs and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Oct. 2, 2023.

Alexander was also found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm on Oct. 4.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Alexander sold 25 grams of heroin to another person during an undercover law enforcement operation in March 2021.

Agents received information that the defendant, who was on supervised release in a prior felony drug case, was using short-term vacation rentals to evade law enforcement.

Roughly a month later, law enforcement found Alexander in a vacation rental with over 800 grams of a heroin and fentanyl mixture, over 60 grams of heroin, over $13,000 in cash, four firearms, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason presided over the trial.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2024. Alexander faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison. He will be held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending his sentence.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Special Agent in Charge Antony Jung of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office and the Anchorage Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Ivers and Carly Vosacek prosecuted the case.