Arizona Man sentenced to five years in prison for drug cultivation

Fairbanks, Alaska-U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that an Arizona man was sentenced in federal court in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Friday, January 18, for two counts of drug trafficking.

Nathanael Harshman, 20, formerly of Fairbanks, Alaska, and recently from Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by Chief United States District Court Judge Ralph R. Beistline to 60 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Cooper, who prosecuted the case, Harshman was one of several persons involved in a cooperative venture to manufacture marijuana and to possess it with intent to distribute by selling.  Harshman pled guilty to conspiracy and also to one count of manufacturing the drug. 

In entering the sentence, the judge found that Harshman had participated in cultivating more than one thousand marijuana plants in order to produce the marijuana intended for sale.  The court also found that he had possessed hand guns and ammunition in connection with this commercial operation.

Ms. Loeffler commends the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Alaska Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit for the investigation of this case.