Anchorage Felon pleads guilty to gun charge

Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced that an Anchorage resident pled guilty yesterday in federal court to an indictment charging one count of felon in possession of firearms. 

Alondo Mark Modeste, 29, entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess.  

In connection with the guilty plea, Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin White Bradley, advised the court that Modeste possessed firearms in April 2012, and while fleeing from law enforcement,
Modeste jumped out of a hotel window at the Merrill Field Inn.  As he went out the window, Modeste threw a Smith & Wesson .357 caliber revolver he possessed into a snow bank.  Law enforcement also found a Taurus 45 caliber revolver underneath the driver’s seat of a Buick Sedan that Modeste had been driving prior to entering the room at the Merrill Field Inn.  Modeste has a 2005 felony conviction for manslaughter arising from a case in the Superior Court for the State of Alaska, Third Judicial District.  Modeste also has other criminal convictions on his record involving illegal controlled substances, guns and violence.       

Judge Burgess scheduled a sentencing hearing for Modeste on July 22, 2013.  The law provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the criminal history of the defendant.        

Ms. Loeffler commends the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Anchorage Police Department for the investigation of this case.  SAUSA Bradley is a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office funded by the Municipality of Anchorage for the purpose of prosecuting gang-related and violent crime cases.