TACOMA MAN GETS 10 YEAR PRISON TERM FOR DRUG AND GUN CRIMES
Pierce County Violent Crimes Task Force takes Crack Dealer Off the Street
MICHAEL ANTHONY WILSON, aka “Creeper,” 29, of Tacoma, Washington was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to ten years in prison and five years of supervised release for Possession of Crack Cocaine with Intent to Distribute and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Crime. U.S. District Judge Franklin D. Burgess noted at sentencing that WILSON has three young children and had failed to set a good example for them.
WILSON was arrested on December 8, 2005, when members of the Pierce County Violent Crimes Task Force served a search warrant on his South Ainsworth Street residence. Investigators found a large amount of crack cocaine, over $3,800 cash and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol. WILSON told agents he had the gun to protect himself and his drug dealing profits. The sentence handed down today consists of two mandatory minimum five year sentences that, by statute, must run consecutively.
WILSON was prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods program. Unveiled by President George W. Bush in May 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), is a comprehensive and strategic approach to gun law enforcement. PSN is a nationwide commitment to reduce gun crime in America by networking both new and existing local programs that target gun crime and then providing them with the resources and tools they need to succeed. Implementation at the local level -- in this case, in Pierce County -- has fostered close partnerships between federal, state and local prosecutors and law enforcement.
The case was investigated by the Pierce County Violent Crimes Task Force which is made up of agents and officers from the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Tacoma Police Department, the Lakewood Police Department and the Washington State Department of Corrections. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Gregory A. Gruber.
For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.
