Leader of Anchorage Gang Charged with Drug Trafficking
Over $125,000 in Cash, One Kilogram of Cocaine Recovered

ANCHORAGE, AK—United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that John Pitaburkhardt Ha, the alleged leader of the Hamo Tribe street gang, was charged with distributing over 500 grams of cocaine.

Ha, 33, of Anchorage, was arraigned on October 1, 2010, on charges contained in a criminal complaint filed on September 29, 2010, in federal court in Anchorage.

According to the complaint, Ha, also known as “C-Man,” sold a kilogram of cocaine to a confidential source in exchange for $45,000. Investigators arrested Ha and recovered the $45,000 from his vehicle. Thereafter, investigators executed a search warrant at Ha’s residence at 3028 Doil Drive, in Anchorage, and recovered over $126,000 in cash from the residence, along with drug paraphernalia, packaging material, and additional cocaine.

The complaint further alleges that Ha was receiving shipments of cocaine through the mail system; on some occasions, the cocaine was packaged inside jukeboxes. Two jukeboxes were found during the execution of the search warrant at Ha’s residence. It is further alleged in the complaint that Ha is the leader of the Hamo Tribe street gang.

The Anchorage Police Department’s Special Assignment Unit and the FBI Safe Streets Task Force conducted the investigation leading to the arrest in this case. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of a prosecutor that is funded by the Municipality of Anchorage for the purpose of prosecuting gang-related and violent crime cases.

The maximum penalties for the charge alleged in the complaint include 40 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum five years in prison, a $2 million fine, and four years’ supervised release.

A complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.