A Juneau man was sentenced to serve 14 years and one month in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Darrell Walter Dawson, 44, was sentenced Friday in federal court in Juneau before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt said Dawson and co-conspirator — local businesswoman Gema G. Thomas — conspired to transport 50 grams or more of methamphetamine from the Lower 48 to Juneau.
The investigation into the case began when a U.S Postal Inspector became suspicious of a package that was to be delivered to one of Thomas’ businesses, Peer Amid Beads on Front Street. Upon executing a search warrant, law enforcement discovered that the package contained six ounces of 99.4 percent pure methamphetamine. They conducted a controlled delivery of the package and arrested Dawson on July 7 when he went to pick up the drugs from Thomas, police said. Thomas was arrested later in October.
According to Schmidt, Dawson paid Thomas $15,000 for the six ounces, and he arranged for and paid for the drugs to be delivered to Peer Amid Beads.
Upon receipt of the drugs, Thomas gave the drugs to Dawson who then distributed it to others in Juneau and collected drug proceeds for advance payment to Thomas for an additional six ounces.
Thomas, 49, who also owns a bridal shop in the downtown area, pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy last month, and she also admitted to using drug proceeds from drug trafficking to pay for her business operating costs and inventory for Bridal Gowns, Formal Wear, and Tuxedo Rentals on Seward Street. She is awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled to take place on March 8 before Burgess in Juneau.
Dawson was originally charged by the state of Alaska on drug-related felony offenses, but those charges were dismissed by the district attorney as the federal case took hold.
Dawson was indicted by a federal grand jury in July, and he pleaded guilty in September.
On Friday, Schmidt said Dawson has an “abysmal” criminal record and he described Dawson as a “career criminal.” Schmidt asked the judge to sentence Dawson to 15 years in prison.
When given a chance to speak, Dawson told the judge about his struggle with addiction which began in high school. He said his addiction grew worse over the years and dominated his life.
He cried as he told the judge it pains him that he hurt his 6-year-old daughter and the rest of his family.
“I’ve hurt myself, my family, my community, my friends, and oh my god, my little girl,” he said.
He vowed to continue fighting his addiction and to have a good attitude about recovery. He said his arrest must have been part of God’s plan to get him off drugs.
“I refuse to believe this is a bad day,” Dawson said.
Dawson’s attorney, James Barrett, noted that his client did not get rich off the conspiracy, and that he was living in Thomas’ garage at the time of his arrest.
The judge said that while it was clear Dawson did not get rich, it still does not diminish the seriousness of the offense.
Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine is a mandatory 10-year minimum offense. With the “career offender” status, Dawson was facing a higher sentencing range of about 21 to 27 years.
The judge agreed to a downward departure from that range, noting that this sentence was “exponentially greater” than any past prison sentences Dawson has served — the most Dawson had ever served was four years. Burgess also said that despite Dawson being in and out of jail for years, Dawson was never ordered to complete drug offender treatment in the past.
• Contact reporter Emily Russo Miller at 523-2263 or at emily.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (32)
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'Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine is a mandatory 10-year minimum offense.'
It isn't going to end well for Ms. Thomas, either. I imagine this has been bad for business, too.
You lose Buckwheat
Nice to see that a dirt bag has finally been brought to justice. Makes you wonder how many people got sucked in and became addicted because of this person's efforts to make the stuff available. 14 years and a month sounds like a pretty good piece if time. Correct me if I am mistaken but if the goof keeps his nose clean he will be out in 7.
and the PermFund pedophile got 2 years
PermFund pedophile was originally indicted on over 100 felony counts, plead guilty to a couple felony counts and gets two years and this poor schmuck gets 14 years? Exactly what message is the Judiciary sending the public?
Are drugs crimes really 7 times more offensive than sexual misconduct with a child?
Time the public took back the Judiciary!
False equivalency, Brad
Yeah, a pedophile is an evil, sick person, and needs to be brought to justice. But this guy and Thomas were peddling one of the most addictive substances on the planet - the fruits of their commerce were to create dozens more Dawsons, who would then have to engage in the same kind of destructive behavior to feed their addictions. Clearly he was not going to stop spreading that cancer in our community until he was put away for a long stretch.
I'm generally skeptical of the "War on Drugs" and think it's a losing, pointless battle. Legalize and tax it instead, and focus efforts on education and treatment. But meth is a special case - zero tolerance. The more photos of meth dealers wearing orange on the front page, the better.
Finally!!
Something real by a judge in Juneau. Let's keep it going!
Federal Court
That is the key word here.Good Job Judge Burgess. This will send a strong message to the drug community.
In regards to Dawson being
In regards to Dawson being out in seven years with good behavior, don't hold your breath. He is in on federal charges which, according to my understanding, means he'll be serving the entire sentence.
We won't be seeing Darrell around town for many a year.
I'm sure some scumbag will eventually fill his shoes in the meth distribution in Juneau, if some body hasn't already. Nonetheless, this long sentence might just serve to make somebody out there think twice before considering the same career path. Another positive aspect of the lengthy sentence is the plain and simple fact that the pile of fecal matter deserved it.
Prison is not the answer for
Prison is not the answer for any of these people! Good lord.
What is, al97?
It's not like he hasn't had multiple opportunities to reach out for help and change.
al97ct, Enlighten us and tell
al97ct,
Enlighten us and tell us what the answer to somebody like Darrell Dawson is if it's not prison. I'm really looking forward to your reply. This ought to be a real hoot.
For anyone who knows Darrell
For anyone who knows Darrell knows he is a good man. Besides the fact he sold dope this man has morales! He was raised by good people. He has an addiction. Its sad 14 years is a long time for my friend. I know im gonna catch a lot of negative comments for this. This man has never done anything to hurt anyone. He is honest, trustworthy and good for anything he would say. His daughter is the victim, a beautiful 6 year old who is going to hurt the rest of her life. I have been there through ds struggles. I have watched him try to stop. He is not a monster. He made a lot of dumb choices and should have listened to us. Good bye my friend see you in 14 years. Know you will be missed
@ Beardscratcher
That was hardly a beard scratch.
Federal charges
As others have pointed out - these were federal charges. Once you use the U. S. Post Office to commit your crime, it becomes a Federal crime. That's the difference.
:)
D is a good guy with a heart of gold. All you people who think your better and hide behind a computer and talk smack can stick it. You will be missed buddy! I hope you have a good recovery! Stay strong!
A good guy?
“I’ve hurt myself, my family, my community, my friends, and oh my god, my little girl,” he said.
At lease HE knows he wasn't a good guy - but he can be......
This is not just some poor addict who made a mistake!
Addiction is a very powerful disease and once a person is forced to be held accountable for their actions, it's upon them to decide which fork in the road they are going to take. He's been in and out of jail since his addiction manifested. A person who is sincere in their commitment to change has to take responsibility and put forth effort to change. Dawson moved to Juneau around the age of 30 with his 14 or 15 year old girlfriend from Petersburg. I think this woman, who was just a child when Dawson got his claws into her was one of his first victims. He got her addicted to meth and even after she got the courage to leave him when he was sent to jail for four years, she continued to struggle with addiction. He introduced her to drugs as a teenager and despite her efforts to change her life, she continued her struggles which ultimately resulted in her being charged with federal drug charges. I'm sure Dawson wasn't too far removed from that crime. Now her children are victims of Dawson's actions.
Local law enforcement has given this man how many opportunities to learn from his crimes? Too many in my opinion. He has had 30+ years to implement changes and prove that he isn't a danger to society. Instead he had continued to introduce very young kids to meth, coheres vulnerable drug addicts to do his bidding in an attempt to shield himself from being caught and ensure that he could feed his never ending drug habit. He has a 6 year old daughter? I understand the power of addiction but nothing has motivated this man to steer clear of dealing drugs. When being arrested doesn't open your eyes, when watching his so called friends repeatedly get arrested and convicted of crimes he facilitated, and most importantly giving life to an innocent child did not result in a wake up call then I feel confident that he has no sincerity in his desire to change. Like a serial killer, the only way to stop this kind of criminal is to lock them up and prepare for him reoffending the moment he walk out those prison gates.
Not Always
@JNUKara Thats what I figured but not always the case go back awhile to the drug case against the carranza boys and flores they also used the mail to have two packages delivered to juneau each package contained cocaine for a total of 200 to 300 grams of cocaine est. value of $75,000 that is a good amount. not one of those clowns went to federal court. I am sure there are other cases.
Maybe that's because the
Maybe that's because the Carranza boys ratted out enough people. As I recall, they walked with rather light sentences considering what they got nailed with.
It is actually quite simple
The Federal Goverment doesn't prosecute every case that involves the mail or transport across state lines. They become involved when the crime involves a conspiracy that will increase their odds of being able to successfully lead them to prosecuting the ring leader. Federal charges are a result of years of intensive and thorough investigating efforts made by numerous local, state and federal law enforcement working together towards a goal of making a clean sweep. Many federal cases are linked in one way or another. Whereas Milan Thomas was charged with the sale of over 13,000 pills and laundering over 1 million in drug profits, there are at least 30 people connected to that man who have been convicted for a very wide range of charges.
If a drug addicted couple conspires to traffic drugs to Juneau or if a low level dealer gets caught at the PO picking up an illegal package, it will likely be prosecuted by the state. The state takes the small simple stuff. The Feds take the cases that take years to succeed in shutting down a large criminal network.
Well said. A heart of gold!
Well said. A heart of gold! This man would give the shirt off his back to help anyone. As far as miranda being his 14 year old girlfriend hardly! They were together for years and he had nothing to do with her going to washington! She is a rat anyways and got off. Darrell will be missed. He never did anything to have anyone of the low lifes here in juneau commit crimes. Thats not him. He was rhe guy who would tell you to go home and take care of your kids and not steal stuff. Since he is gone there will be a bunch of idiots running the streets breaking in to houses and doing dumb stuff. A lot of his friends are now in recovery and we will all be here for him when he gets done with his time. Thats what he has, friends.
@Fairreader
Please refrain from talking about that young girl from Petersburg's children. Those kids are far from being victims of anything, nor should you or anyone else perceive them in that fashion.
Also, you should probably get your facts straight about her, her addiction and her life. I am not denying that she had issues in the past, but to say that she struggled from the time she left until she got charged is just not a true statement.
I apologize if I offended you
Just A Thought. I think anytime children have to try and understand and deal with a sudden absence of a parent is traumatic. I didn't name any names and I don't appreciate akac assuming that my comment had anything to do with any one specific person or situation. I was simply stating that by Dawson introducing this mother to drugs when she was young and he was twice her age resulted in ongoing issues in her life. I disagree that she didn't struggle in the years between meeting Dawson and her arrest. She had periods of success in her recovery. To say she didn't struggle is just not true. Had her addiction been under control then drugs would have remained a part of her past. Just because someone appears to have it all together and doesn't appear to be struggling by no means is proof that it wasn't an issue. I think akac is dillusional in their misguided belief that Dawson was a devoted family man who contributed anything positive to this community. Oh and one last thing to Dawson's supporters on here: You aren't making him look better those of you wallowing in self pity that your drug hook up is gone. I'm not going to get into a war on here but akac felt the need to try and defend Dawson by attacking his ex publicly. In my personal opinion there are two groups of people in this community. Those who are currently dangers to Juneau( unless we were blessed by them being taken off the streets, however temporary that may be). Then there are the law abiding citizens who respect our community and the hard work local law enforcement puts forth to in an attempt to make this a great place to live. Please define a "RAT" akac. Is that a drug dealers slanderous name for a person who chose to cut ties and loyalties to the criminal associations and instead commited to respecting the law and proving that family and a prison free life is more important? What a horrible person they must be compared to your savior Dawson and all of his followers.
Bravo, fairreader. Adios
Bravo, fairreader. Adios Double-D. From what I read here, your customers, errrrr "friends" are hurting and will miss you.
If you ask me. Her kids are
If you ask me. Her kids are better off with there dad. I seen who she had around them when they were living with her. I seen her parental skills. I have never been in her house I was a neighbor watching the garbage she had around them. Darrell chose not to come around. You must be a parent of this girl or a close relative still in petersburg. Keep a blind eye, but I for a fact know when she was released from the eagle river womens prison and was sent back to juneau the first thing she did was get loaded. She then made her way out of state to see another person and do it again.
"He has a heart of Gold" "He
"He has a heart of Gold" "He would never hurt anyone". OK The dude was dealing meth. He wasnt arrested for selling lollipops without a license. Meth. The most addictive and destructive drug out there. Dealing meth - dealing death, destruction and misery...
Those that are advocating for
Those that are advocating for Darrell should realize that he made these choices for himself.....addicted or not. He's had chances for over 20 years to change or say no, and he hasn't. All he's done is caused more damage, more addicts, and more crime.
That's quite the
revision there bigtall.......Come to your senses after the bag of cheetos?
@akac
You continue to veer off the topic of this article. You are trying very hard, suspiciously hard to take the focus off Mr. Dawson. Let me try to get this across one final time, my comments( which are absolutely an accurate dipiction of my personal opinion in respect to the original article and in response to several comments made by you and a few others) reflect my personal views regarding Dawson. I am not a biased, ignorant or uneducated person. I am not making assumptions and posting statements about matters I know nothing about. You have twisted this so much that I am pretty sure that whoever you are, you still have some important life lessons to learn. If your intention was to prove your undying loyalty to Dawson, I think the readers get your position that Dawson was just some poor soul who is misunderstood. You have carefully chosen how to word your comments to accommodate your misguided views. If Juneau's rumor mill is correct, then it was Dawson and his similar minded girlfriend who this woman went to after being released from Hiland. By all means correct me if I'm wrong but if he was so family oriented and such a good influence on you meth addicts, why didn't he slam the door in her face and tell her that he wasn't going to provide her with drugs? Why did he not remind her that it wasn't their doorstep she should be seeking out and encourage her to go check into a treatment program? I think there are addicts out there who just need a wake up call, help and a lot of support from people who are not associated with that drug circle. I know of addicts that like Dawson, cannot break the cycle but who would never offer drugs to a recovering addict, a vulnerable teenager or a parent. I pity the addict who meets Dawson 14 years from now standing in the middle of a fork in the road. Like you pointed out, he is the person that will guide another right back down the path of addiction. I wonder how many lives he has ruined by simply not supplying a recovering addict with the substance that resulted in another relapse statistic. Thank God that the Federal BOP doesn't let their inmates the opportunity to walk free after serving only 1/3 of their sentence. God bless you akac. Oh and one last thing, just because I think that I will enjoy this question: When you are sitting on your dillusional high horse, witnessing your neighbors children in unhealthy living circumstances, did you do one darn thing to prevent it? I'm guessing that you sat there in your meth induced paranoia and did nothing. What other choice did you have right? Calling law enforcement would make you a rat right? Most importantly I'm sure, would have justified putting the needs of kids in danger above the danger contact with Leo's put you in of not getting your fix...
Who is the PFD pedophile?
Who is the PFD pedophile?
I believe this person is the PFD pedopile
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