Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that Utuva Alaelua was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to 58 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline imposed the sentence on Alaelua, 31.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Cavanaugh. Alaelua pled guilty to one count of an indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In Anchorage, on Aug. 27, 2014, Anchorage Police Department officers responded to a local city park in reference to a running vehicle with two individuals who appeared to be passed out inside the vehicle. Alaelua was in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, which had been reported stolen on August 8, 2014. Alealua had a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol inside the driver’s side door pocket of the vehicle and was wearing a holster for the firearm. The firearm had been reported stolen in June 2014. Alaelua is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition due to his prior felony convictions in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska for Distribution of a Controlled Substance and Carrying a Firearm during Drug Trafficking.
Ms. Loeffler commended the Anchorage Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Alaelua.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
