SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Algernon Tamasoa, 28, of Sacramento, will spend the next eight years behind bars after being sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller for his role in a brazen methamphetamine trafficking operation that stretched from California to Hawaii, and for illegally peddling assault rifles. The sentence, handed down today, is the latest blow in a sprawling investigation that has ensnared dozens.
Tamasoa pleaded guilty on January 11, 2017, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and dealing firearms without a license. Court documents reveal a calculated scheme: Tamasoa, working alongside co-defendant Epati Malauulu, 42, of Suisun City, and others, sourced high-grade methamphetamine within California and shipped it to Oahu, Hawaii, where it was flipped for substantial profit. Oahu, already reeling from a crystal meth epidemic, became the target of this ruthless operation. The investigation didn’t stop there.
Federal authorities have identified and charged a total of 44 defendants in the District of Hawaii and four in the Northern District of California (San Francisco) as a result of this probe. Among those already sentenced are John Ortiz, 44, of Vallejo, who received 10 years in prison on May 17, 2017, and Epati Malauulu, 42, of Suisun City, who was handed a 20-year sentence on April 26, 2017, both for their involvement in the methamphetamine trafficking. One defendant, Francisco Poloai, 45, of Dixon, remains at large, scheduled for trial on September 25, 2017; he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
But the drugs weren’t the only contraband flowing from Tamasoa. Between February 6, 2015, and May 27, 2015, he sold a staggering 11 assault rifles to an undercover agent. These weren’t just any firearms; several were equipped with high-capacity magazines, and the first four sales included ammunition. These weapons, capable of piercing standard bulletproof vests worn by law enforcement, pose a grave threat in urban environments, easily penetrating walls and doors. Worse still, two of the rifles were “ghost guns” – manufactured without serial numbers, rendering them untraceable and readily available to criminals.
The case is a direct result of the tireless work of multiple agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a host of state and local law enforcement teams across California and Hawaii. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) spearheaded the investigation, demonstrating the power of coordinated law enforcement efforts to dismantle large-scale drug and weapons trafficking networks. Assistant United States Attorney Richard Bender is prosecuting the Sacramento case.
This isn’t simply about locking up one man. It’s about choking off the supply of poison and firepower that fuels crime and devastation, both on the mainland and in the islands. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on the fallout from this complex criminal enterprise.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime|Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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