Jason McAnulty, Heroin Distribution, Anchorage AK, 2020

Anchorage’s “Snoop,” Jason McAnulty, is headed to federal prison for over a decade. The 40-year-old dealer was sentenced to 10 years and 5 months for pushing 126 grams of heroin onto the streets of Alaska. The feds say McAnulty profited $6,300 from the deals, a paltry sum considering the devastation he peddled.

Undercover officers with the FBI and Anchorage Police Department (APD) snared McAnulty during two operations in June 2020. He wasn’t a small-time player, moving a significant amount of the deadly opioid. But the heroin was only part of the story. A subsequent raid on McAnulty’s residence in July 2020 uncovered a staggering $34,000 in cash – the dirty money fueling his operation. The bust revealed a clear pattern of criminal activity, not just a one-off mistake.

U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Kindred didn’t show leniency. The sentence reflects not only the gravity of the heroin distribution but also McAnulty’s extensive criminal past. This wasn’t his first rodeo. In 2004, McAnulty was convicted of first-degree robbery, a violent felony that automatically triggered a mandatory minimum sentence in this case. He also has a 2015 federal conviction for attempted witness tampering, proving a consistent disregard for the law.

Federal prosecutors emphasized the ongoing opioid crisis and the need to hold drug traffickers accountable. They’re right to be concerned. Alaska, like much of the nation, is grappling with a surge in overdose deaths. Every gram of heroin McAnulty pushed contributed to that deadly trend, poisoning the community and exploiting vulnerable individuals.

The investigation was a joint effort between the FBI and APD, demonstrating the power of interagency cooperation. They built a solid case, piecing together evidence from the undercover buys and the damning cash seizure. The feds are sending a message: Anchorage isn’t a safe haven for drug dealers, and those who profit from addiction will face severe consequences.

McAnulty’s sentence includes eight years of supervised release after he completes his prison term. Whether that will be enough to keep him from returning to his old ways remains to be seen. For now, one less dealer is on the streets of Anchorage, but the fight against the opioid epidemic is far from over. The feds vow to continue targeting those responsible for flooding Alaskan communities with poison.