Michael Hindman, Drug Conspiracy and Assault, Alaska 2019

Anchorage, Alaska – In a stunning display of justice, Michael Hindman, a 32-year-old Oregon man, was sentenced to 16 years in prison for his role in a brazen drug conspiracy and assault of a corrections officer in Unalaska, Alaska.

According to court documents, Hindman mailed multiple packages of heroin and methamphetamine to a local drug dealer in Unalaska during 2019. In return, the local dealer mailed Hindman boxes of cash to pay for the drugs. One specific package Hindman sent on October 9, 2019, contained 93 grams of heroin, which was divided and sold to individuals throughout the Unalaska community.

Tragically, the heroin sold by Hindman claimed the life of one individual on October 16, 2019, when the person was found deceased in a local hotel room. The medical examiner confirmed that the individual had died of a heroin overdose. The investigation led to Hindman, who was living in Oregon, as the distributor of the heroin to Unalaska.

Hindman was arrested in November 2019 on the federal drug charge. While being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex in June 2020, Hindman assaulted an Alaska Department of Corrections officer, requiring emergency room treatment.

Hindman pleaded guilty to both charges in August 2021.

“The US Attorney’s office and our law-enforcement partners will not stand by while drug dealers peddle their poison and kill Alaskans,” said US Attorney John E. Kuhn, Jr. of the District of Alaska. “This heavy sentence should be a warning to anyone considering trafficking in opioids, even from outside the state.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, and the Unalaska Department of Public Safety investigated the drug conspiracy case. The U.S. Marshal Service investigated the assault with assistance from Alaska State Troopers and the Alaska Department of Corrections.

Criminal Chief, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Sherman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Vandergaw prosecuted the case.

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