Anchorage Meth Dealer Receives 120-Month Sentence

ANCHORAGE—United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today, February 1, 2012, that on January 31, 2012, Son Chieng Saephan, a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to 120 months for his conviction of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

United States District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess imposed the sentence on 21 year-old Saephan.

According to Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin White, who prosecuted the case, Saephan sold 8.8 grams of pure methamphetamine to a buyer on March 18, 2010. On April 2, 2010, Saephan sold 6.0 grams of pure methamphetamine to the same buyer. Finally, on June 10, 2010, Saephan sold 10.5 grams of pure methamphetamine to the same buyer. On June 10, 2010, law enforcement also found the defendant in possession of 436 grams of pure methamphetamine, along with a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun, drug paraphernalia and over $5,000 in cash.

In fashioning a sentence, the court noted the serious nature of Saephan’s crimes, along with the need for community protection and deterrence of criminal behavior. Saephan will also forfeit his interest in the Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun and $3,831 in cash to the United States.

Ms. Loeffler commended the Federal Bureau of Investigations Safe Streets Task Force, comprised of FBI agents and officers from the Anchorage Police Department, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Saephan. SAUSA White is a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office who is funded by the Municipality of Anchorage for the purpose of prosecuting gang-related and violent crime cases.