Anchorage Felon Sentenced for Illegal Possession of Firearms

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Joshua J. Ziegler, 29, of Anchorage, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to serve 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  In November 2018, Ziegler pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of firearms.  

According to court documents, on April 15, 2017, APD officers were in the area of Karluk and E 20^th in Anchorage, attempting to locate a suspect in a shooting incident that occurred in Muldoon.  Officers observed Ziegler, who was seated in the rear passenger seat of a car parked not far from the last known residence of the suspected shooter.  Ziegler was found to be in possession of two high capacity firearms that had loaded magazines, including an Intratech Tech-9 9mm handgun and a Glock .45 caliber handgun.  Ziegler was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant, as he was under state supervision following his felony assault conviction in 2015.  In that case, Ziegler had been involved in a shooting incident during which he had fired four rounds at another moving vehicle.  As someone previously convicted of a felony, Ziegler was prohibited from possessing firearms. 

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Burgess found that Ziegler was a “poster child” for those who should not be in possession of firearms, and sentenced him to the high end of the advisory sentencing guidelines for his crime and his criminal history.  Judge Burgess also noted that a sentence at the high end of the guidelines was necessary, in part, to protect the public from Ziegler. 

The Anchorage Police Department (APD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephan Collins.

Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.