Anchorage Crack Dealer Receives 97-Month Prison Sentence

ANCHORAGE—Acting United States Attorney Kevin R. Feldis announced today that Marquinn Prentiss Jones-Nelson, 21, a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to 97 months for his convictions of distribution of controlled substances.

Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline imposed the sentence on Jones-Nelson.

According to Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin White, who prosecuted the case, Jones-Nelson sold 12.1 grams of crack on December 29, 2010 and 32.2 grams of crack on January 4, 2011. Also, during a traffic stop on January 4, 2011, Jones-Nelson was found driving a vehicle that contained 167.2 grams of powder cocaine and a loaded Hi-Point handgun.

In fashioning a sentence, the court noted the serious nature of the drug charges, along with Jones-Nelson’s prior criminal history involving both guns and drugs. The court emphasized a need to protect the community and to deter Jones-Nelson and others from committing similar crimes in the future.

Mr. Feldis commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation Safe Streets Task Force, comprised of FBI agents and officers from the Anchorage Police Department, for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Jones-Nelson. SAUSA White is a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office who is funded by the municipality of Anchorage for the purpose of prosecuting gang-related and violent crime cases.