HONOLULU - After a nine-day trial and less than one day of deliberation in United States District Court, a federal jury on Friday, Jan. 30, found California resident Alan L. Mapuatuli, age 44, guilty of distribution of crystal methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Mapuatuli faces a mandatory term of life imprisonment without parole when he is sentenced by United States District Judge Derrick K. Watson.
Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said that according to information produced in court, Mapuatuli was convicted as the result of an undercover transaction between Mapuatuli and an informant involving a pound of methamphetamine. That transaction was monitored and recorded by federal agents. Based on information developed in the investigation, Mapuatuli was stopped as he drove away from the transaction. When his vehicle was searched, agents found the cellphone he had used to communicate with the informant, a black Adidas backpack containing six ounces of crystal methamphetamine, $15,975.00 in U.S. currency, and a loaded,.45 caliber pistol, and a leather bag which contained an additional pound of crystal methamphetamine.
The prosecution was the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations/Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan M. F. Loo and Michael K. Kawahara.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
