CONEX Box Contained Over 10 Pounds of Methamphetamine
Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced
that Charles Denver Phillips a/k/a “Pup,” and his wife, Lois Latrilla Phillips,
46, were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason for conspiring to
distribute and for actually distributing methamphetamine. The couple lived in Anchorage.
As the Phillips admitted in their pleas, in August 2018,
they maintained a stash of methamphetamine that they intended to distribute in
Alaska. They kept some of their stash in
their apartment but maintained the majority in a CONEX located at an Anchorage
dog-kenneling business.
On August 7, 2018, Charles and Latrilla sold 401 grams of
methamphetamine to a repeat customer.
Law enforcement officials observed Latrilla leave the couples’ apartment
and drive to the dog kenneling business where she and Charles controlled a
CONEX container that contained methamphetamine.
Latrilla then returned, indirectly, to her apartment, where she gave
methamphetamine to Charles. Charles then
sold the 401 grams of methamphetamine to the repeat customer.
On August 10, 2018, law enforcement officials searched the
Phillips’ Anchorage, Alaska apartment and their off-site CONEX. The Phillips’ apartment contained 120 grams
of methamphetamine, some of which was packaged in baggies containing scenes
from the Disney movie “Frozen.” The
Phillips also had several digital scales, drug packaging items, and $24,942 of
drug trafficking proceeds in their apartment.
The apartment contained many décor and clothing items that reflect
Charles’ membership in the Hells Angels, an outlaw motorcycle gang. The Phillips’ CONEX contained an additional
ten pounds of methamphetamine.
Charles Phillips is a Career Offender. His criminal history includes two prior
felony drug trafficking convictions, from 2006 and 2009, respectively. Indeed, Phillips was on supervised release
for his prior federal methamphetamine trafficking conviction when he engaged in
this methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy.
Charles also obstructed justice prior to entering his guilty plea. Judge Gleason sentenced Charles to 18 years
in federal prison plus 5 years of supervised release.
Judge Gleason found that Latrilla merited a shorter sentence
given that she had no prior criminal history, she had demonstrated a strong
work ethic over the years, and she had succeeded in and earned accolades for
her substance abuse treatment and rehabilitation efforts while on release
pending trial. Judge Gleason thus
sentenced Latrilla Phillips to 8 years in federal prison and 4 years of
supervised release. Both Charles and
Latrilla agreed to forfeit $24,942 in drug trafficking proceeds found in their
apartment.
The Alaska State Troopers (AST) with the assistance of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted the investigation leading to
the successful prosecution of this case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Kim Sayers-Fay.
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