A Juneau man who was convicted by a jury last March for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced Friday to serve the next decade in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess imposed the 10 year sentence, which is the mandatory minimum sentence for the crime, in federal court in Juneau.
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska allege Ryan Budd Burnett, 30, and a co-conspirator agreed to travel to Seattle in order to obtain methamphetamine for subsequent distribution in Juneau in November of 2009.
According to charging documents, Burnett flew to Seattle on Nov. 7, 2009, to purchase 11 ounces of methamphetamine, and he arranged for a “mule” or drug courier, who is not named in court documents, to carry the drugs back to Alaska via Alaska Airlines. Burnett organized their trip and the return flight to Juneau.
The next day, Nov. 8, the courier arrived in Seattle and was videotaped being picked up by Burnett in a rental car. The two were then videotaped at Target purchasing items later used to conceal and package the drugs in order to avoid detection at the airport, according to court documents filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt.
On the morning of Nov. 11, Burnett drove the courier to Seattle’s SeaTac airport. Both were scheduled to leave from Seattle to Juneau via Alaska Airlines, but the co-conspirator was caught inside the secured area of the airport. She was found to be in possession of about 311 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine that was tested later to contain about 337 actual grams of meth, which is a little more than 11 ounces.
The Empire previously reported Burnett was contacted at the departing gate, denied knowing the mule, or even his own name, and was subsequently detained.
He was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2010 on count of conspiring to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. He was arrested a month later in October.
The case went to trial in March of last year, and after a guilty verdict was handed down, Burnett moved for an acquittal and for a new trial. Those motions were denied by Burgess in May.
On Friday, Schmidt requested Burnett serve 20 years in prison, arguing that he was “a highly dangerous individual.” Schmidt said it was not the first time Burnett was involved in drug trafficking, and that when Burnett was 18, he was charged in state court with three counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, a felony, for distributing cocaine. Though those charges were dropped, Schmidt said that when Burnett was contacted at his Juneau residence in August of 2010, he was carrying a loaded .40 caliber handgun and had installed video cameras for surveillance around his house, allegedly to protect his drug enterprise.
“I find that highly disturbing,” Schmidt said, adding, “That is something that scares many people.”
Schmidt noted that Burnett has a minimal criminal history — he only has one prior conviction for contempt of court for failing to report violations of the conditions of release for another man, an older friend, he was acting as third-party custodian for. Burnett was 18 at the time, and he served 90 days in jail for that offense. But Schmidt said that was indicative of his disregard for the criminal justice system and inability to follow court orders.
“Obviously that jail stint didn’t work,” Schmidt said. “... The defendant hasn’t been deterred. ... He hasn’t done anything to repudiate from his past, and he needs to be deterred, and the only way to do that is to give him a serious sentence.”
Burnett’s attorney Kristen Swanson said perceptions that Burnett was solely a drug dealer were false, and that he did not continuously deal drugs. Originally from Anchorage, Burnett moved to Juneau during his high school years with his father after his parents got divorced, she said. Since then, he’s worked as a laborer in the community and for his father’s business, and friends, family members and former employers have all written letters of support of his work ethic. In the past 17 months he’s been held in custody, he’s worked in the kitchen at Lemon Creek Correctional Center, she added.
All this is way of saying he has good prospects for rehabilitation after his release, she said, adding that his limited criminal history should also be taken into consideration. Swanson requested he serve the minimum sentence of 10 years at a prison that offers an electrical skills program that could help him land a job after his release.
“Ten years is plenty of time,” Swanson said. “Going higher than that is just not going to make a difference.”
Burnett declined to address the judge before the sentence was handed down, saying, “I don’t really have anything else to say except I’m sorry.”
Burgess imposed the mandatory 10 years and five years of supervised probation after his release, but said if it were up to him, he probably would have given Burnett a lesser sentence given his lack of criminal record. He called a 10-year sentence “unusual” because most defendants have served serious jail time before receiving a lengthy 10 year sentence, whereas Burnett has only served 90 days in jail before.
But because Congress prescribes the 10 year mandatory minimum for this crime, there was no room for his discretion, he said.
“Ten years is more than sufficient in this case,” he said. “... But it’s not my decision. That’s Congress’ decision.”
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (45)
Add commentLesson, not learned
I would think that a three month stint in prison would have been a good motivator to live a life that would avoid a return trip--sorry judge, ten years is just fine.
Let this individual serve as
Let this individual serve as an example to others who want to play the same game. The least one can get for this kind of thing is ten years. People who are considering going into the meth dealing business should think about what they were doing ten years ago in order to better understand what a ten year prison sentence means.
thought an AK judge actually sentenced someone
and they did but of course it was to the absolute minimum sentence required by federal law. Then I see he would have given way less if he was permitted to do so.
That is the reason why Alaska is such a crime pit.
Basic math?
"She was found to be in possession of about 311 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine that was tested later to contain about 337 actual grams of meth"
How did the pure meth weigh more than the mixture it was contained in?
The truth deserves to have a turn
The reason Ryan was in jail for 90 days when he was 18 years old was due to failed communications between the court system and Lemon Creek Correctional Center - Judge Collins allowed Ryan to be part of a "Third Party Custodian" if I, his father would also be on board as the main custodian. When I went to LCCC to pick up Ryan I learned that the court gave my 18 year old, "high school student" legal custody of a 21 year old. I would not have allowed the custody -- unfortunately what was done was done. Ryan was arrested because the individual he was responsible for did violate his conditions of release. Ryan was incarcerated for that reason and that reason alone. I was betrayed as a father - no 18year old and especially one still in high school, should ever be allowed to be placed in that situation. He did learn his lesson...he never served as 3rd party custodian again!
The .40 cal gun mentioned wasn't Ryan's and he was not carrying it. Kristen Swanson corrected Schmidt's incorrect statement -- I guess Emily Miller just didn't hear that fact.
Ryan had one video camera that watched his vehicles in the driveway. I guess according to "Schmidt", anyone who has a security camera or cameras and owns a gun or someone in your residence owns a gun...beware, you make the community very nervous. “I find that highly disturbing,” Schmidt said, adding, “That is something that scares many people.”
Here is a good one: "he arranged for a “mule” or drug courier" -- the "mule" was arranged by her good friend who resides in Washington -- as the "mule" herself testified, Ryan did NOT make those arrangements.
As was also established in court is the fact that Ryan didn't deny he was Ryan Burnett...The officer used a name other than Ryan Burnett and Ryan answered correctly that he was not that person. I guess that knowledge doesn't make for a good story.
This was a complicated case and unless you witnessed all of it, you have no idea how wrong his conviction is. The Jury convicted Meth on the day they sentenced Ryan. Fear can be a bad thing and there is far too much fear in our society these days.
Judge Burgess probably would have used a safety valve to impose a more just sentence too Ryan but Schmidt brought forward the 3rd party custody violation and due to a bad policy adopted by Congress -- Schmidt tied Judge Burgess' hands to the mandatory minimum sentence.
Ryan will be successful in this life and will benefit any future community he ends up living in. He will take what has happened and turn it into a good outcome because that is his nature.
I love you Ryan Budd Burnett! :-)
Proudly,
Your Father,
Bret Burnett
Truly shocking sentence
Truly shocking sentence
@Do the Right Thing
I read the article to say that this was all handled by the federal courts, not the state courts. You may have a valid point about Alaska being a crime pit, and you may also have a point about Alaska's judicial process, but they do not have much connection to the case reported here.
11ounces
Is a pretty fair amount of Meth and should be a good example of the size of the drug problem here in Juneau.
They should punished like in Thailand
They are ruin people's life, it's like murder
Good articles on www.ariespost.com
@peanut11
Yeah buddy, you're right, we should simply kill off people that make mistakes.
Demented sickos like you should spend less time hating people, and more time learning some basic grammar:
"They are ruin...."
Your spelling "are ruin" people's "life"....I'd say we send you to Thailand.
@MC TRIG>>>
dey dont thank it b like it is, but it doo?
Speaking of spelling and grammar, perhaps you would care to make a few corrections “yer ownself”?
BTW: Don’t take it too personally but to be quite frank, the votes are in and it’s unanimous, everyone thinks you are a boob.
nothing personal...
If I am to be presented before my judge then perhaps there should be a caveat: I am actually being placed before my political representatives.
If I am going to be sentenced, absent the jury's byline, let it be by the person who judged me and not by those who reside on some distant coast.
It's a fair sentence
Meth is a very dangerous drug. It ruins lives. It's highly addictive.
I think it's a fair sentence.
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Look At The Facts
Honestly look at some facts about this case. The "Mule" was the one that brought the Meth and this person now walks free on our streets for pointing a finger at Ryan Burnett. This Mule can never be brought to trial over this incident again. Has anyone thought about that? The fact that Ryan broke a 3rd party custody when he was 18 and still in high school says a lot to me about the Judge involved in that case. What good judge would allow a teenager still in High School to be granted third party in the 1st place? That being said, how many of YOU on here didnt make mistakes as a teenager and how many of you trusted your own friends enough to think they would not violate 3rd party if you helped them out? Also, any of you that own a gun or have video equipment better watch out, you must all be drug dealers too! This young man was given a raw deal to begin with, we think more prison time reabilitates a person? Studies show differently. The Judge was very kind in saying had he been able to give him less time he would because Ryan is not a loss cause. Our jail system is full of people that need help like Ryan and the system wont fix a situation like this. People that murder other people get less time in jail. It seems to me that a person pointing a finger at someone else to get out of prison time should be more "scary" to us all than this person. Good luck Ryan and good luck to all of us with the "Mule" on our streets.
Beautiful People
I read through the comments and the ignorance and egocentric quality of the majority of them is appalling at best. Someone watches Cops and bases a blanket generalization off of it? Another states that we should borrow from Thailand's laws which are brutal. Yet another likens his crime to MURDER? The list of rank judgments goes on.
Seriously, is this the best you people have to offer? If it is, you should just keep it in your savings until it can accrue enough wisdom to be worth consideration because such irrational assertions are clear indicators of a base and very low nature. I'll bet each person that has condemned Ryan Burnett for his mistake calls themselves a Christian. I hope that each of you is soon subject to the same short measures with which you have cast judgment here. You'll deserve it and perhaps the uninformed masses gathered around you like so many vultures waiting to fall upon you in blood-lust will cry out "More time! No mercy!".
You make me sick.
Anyone who thinks Thailand's
Anyone who thinks Thailand's laws are stricter than ours has never been to Thailand.
So the Death Penalty is lighter than 10 years?
@kpawsuh Anyone who thinks that the death penalty is NOT stricter than a 10 year sentence needs to have their head examined. Regardless of whether or not such a penalty has been handed down in the last 8 years, that's as lofty as it gets.
The war on drugs is lost.
The war on drugs is lost. Locking a small time dealer up for ten years is a gross misuse of tax dollars. People who laundered tens of millions for the Medellin cartel got less than that with good time. We need to lock people up who commit violent crimes (assault, dv, robbery, etc) and keep them there. Trying to buy/sell meth or other narcotics is not a violent crime though many who use may commit such......
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Chad, ever been to Thailand?
Chad, ever been to Thailand? I saw Opiam, plainly labelled, at a street vendor right outside the police office in Bangkok. Drugs were everywhere. If you forced the issue I am sure you could have gotten in trouble, but largely they want to do their beat and go home, collect paycheck. They are very happy to live and let live from all my experiences in SE Asia.
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J.E Fume who wasn't AT the trial
So J.E. do you happen to have been at the trial to know all the facts since you seem to be so high and mighty? Do you happen to know Ryan at all? I want to point out, yet again, that the reason Ryan is where he is, is because the mule pointed a finger at him to get the "Get out of jail free card". Did you know the mule came back later to say they lied? But when they went back in to court a month later on the mule's request, someone had frightened them and they suddenly "dont recall" saying they lied. It was my understanding (from the trial) that Ryan had a drug problem and had actually reabilitated himself and had been a productive tax paying person for over a year. He had established a life again with 2 jobs and his own place. Seems to me that one has to wonder how productive it is now for him to be in jail with our tax money taking care of him when it is clear he was able to do that himself. The fact you spew crap from your mouth without even knowing all the facts says a lot about you. True he was convicted by a jury, true perhaps (we will never know) that he could have pointed the finger in the right direction of who this "King Pin" was, but if you know anything at all about what happens to a snitch for the rest of their lives, you would know it isn't a safe thing to do. So we now have a person that had again become productive in helping us with taxes paid to a person we now pay taxes to take care of. So say what you will J.E., you talk big but know nothing about what all took place! I am no junkie but I am educated in the facts of this case....more than you can say!
Ignorant Bile by J.E. Fumes
There was a time when I believed truth championed all, but now, more than ever, I believe it is the person with the biggest mouth that leads the charge and we all know that ignorance speaks loudest. I've read some of your other comments on other articles and it appears that you're content to be an armchair hero, saving the world from bad guys, one self-satisfied comment at a time.
Not only do you not know Ryan, but you don't even know anyone that was ever involved in such an addiction. You said that yourself, but I guess it's now acceptable to allow cheesy television programs to tell you who other people are rather than actual experience and to then reduce that person from a human being with a problem to a stereotype with a ratings draw.
The only fact apparent in your statements is that you quite literally don't know what you're talking about.
I swear, the ignorance you exhibit should be studied by science so that, one day, humanity may find a cure for it and rid the world of the danger that anyone else may, at some point, be forced to bear the stench of your opinions and feeble judgments.
I find it odd that you seem to feel such a strong need to be heard casting derision at people that, to you, are complete strangers. Is this your only chance at being noticed? Do you have no healthier means of interacting with a community? It's like you've come directly off of YouTube and fallen, much like a turd, directly onto the floor of this forum.
I'm no junkie either, I simply know a few important facts about Ryan's direction, his fall from grace, and his reawakening and subsequent return to an upright, productive path. All you have is thirty episodes of Cops, a big mouth, and a chip on your shoulder, for whatever reason.
J E Fume
is quite honestly, one of the LEAST ignorant people I have ever known. He may not know Ryan - but you don't know J E Fume. Ryan's troubles are Ryan's, period - it's nobody else's fault that he is now paying for the crime he committed. Whether he deserved 10 years or not, is not for me to say. But, he is to blame for what he is facing now.
"Nov. 8, the courier arrived in Seattle and was videotaped being picked up by Burnett in a rental car. The two were then videotaped at Target purchasing items later used to conceal and package the drugs in order to avoid detection at the airport."
"On the morning of Nov. 11, Burnett drove the courier to Seattle’s SeaTac airport. Both were scheduled to leave from Seattle to Juneau via Alaska Airlines"
Sounds to me like he took an active role. The "mule" was the one who got caught and the one who got the deal. He was the one who provided the drugs, therefore, he is the one going to jail. Just because he turned his life around before the trial, doesn't mean he gets a "free pass". Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
It's all about timing.
If only Ryan had found the right path and turned his life around BEFORE he got caught breaking the law and striving to bring dangerous drugs into our community.
I'm glad, though, that he (according to those who seem to know him personally from their comments above) doesn't have to "rehabilitate" during his prison sentence since they say he's mentally there already.
He can serve his time planning how to live an upstanding life upon his release. Maybe he can take some classes and learn a new trade and come out swinging for the fence.
Meth is a terrible drug.
To the J. E. Fumes Admirer
As his admirer it is your right to defend him, however out of line he may be and regardless of from what corner of ignorance he speaks from, but his title of being the "LEAST ignorant person you know" is, aside from being only relative to those that you know, highly irrelevant to the topic at hand. Firstly, he stated his ignorance clearly and in plain language when, before presuming to judge Ryan Burnett, he admitted that his only frame of reference for someone involved with meth was a couple of crap T.V. shows. Wow, how insightful. Gee, I can easily see how someone with that kind of background should clearly be considered an authority not only on someone involved with meth, but also on ANY that would dare to disagree with him in support of the one he would condemn. I can definitely see how he could possess the authority to decide that no one supporting someone like Ryan could possibly be from an upstanding background. I mean, only junkies and other lowlifes could ever think kindly of him or defend his efforts as a human being, right?
You see, it isn't about the facts which are that he was convicted and is serving a sentence because those don't really say anything substantial about a person, those are just news clippings and if all little Fumes had spoken of was the obvious facts then there could be nothing really to say, but he certainly didn't stop there, oh no. Being the heroic and righteous man of truth and self-importance that he appears to be, he went on to state that Ryan was probably among "the sorriest excuses for human beings" that he has "ever seen" and he went even further when he endeavored to insult those that would speak on his behalf.
I won't stand for it any more than I have ever stood for those fat, pig-headed, bullies picking on those that can not defend themselves. You may excuse it, but I do not.
More than that, you're damn right it isn't for you or anyone else that doesn't know the case from more than their easy-chair viewings to say what he deserves and I am just thankful that U.S. District Judges like Timothy Burgess require more than the paltry crumbs of information and mind-numbing television programming that F.E. Fumes requires to judge another's character. God save us all should we ever be subject to the likes of Fumes where our futures stand in judgment.
He may know a fair bit about fishing licenses and he may keep well abreast of local politics, but he is clearly not well informed in this matter. Love him if you like, but I have found nothing in the character that he has displayed here in this matter that is worthy of respect.
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Caught on tape
"Mule" didn't make Ryan magically appear on the tape. He was there. There was clearly enough evidence to convict him. You don't get that from one conspiring witness.
My experience with addicts and dealers is very close to home. The lies they tell themselves and others. The complete narcisism... I hope he has found a new path, I truly do.
I firmly believe that his time would be better spent in a hospital/rehab facility than a prison. To truly get clean if he is not. To understand the damage and destruction his actions cause on the lives of others if he is. I honestly think cleaning up after your mistakes is the best way to learn from them. And to me prison is just another place to hide from yourself and reality.
Please, ChadTB. Can't you see
Please, ChadTB. Can't you see that we're boosting our own self-esteem by ostracizing others?