Ketchikan Residents Sentenced To Prison For Trafficking Methamphetamine And Heroin

Anchorage, Alaska-U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that two Ketchikan residents were sentenced in federal court in Juneau for trafficking methamphetamine and heroin. 

Robert Duane Moriarty, 36, and Sara Skan, 35, of Ketchikan, Alaska, were sentenced today in Juneau by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy M. Burgess.  Moriarity received a sentence of 60 months of imprisonment followed by a five year term of supervised release, and Skan received 18 months of imprisonment followed by a three year term of supervised release.  On July 21, 2015, Moriarty and Skan pled guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy charge involving methamphetamine and heroin.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt, beginning in September 2014, Moriarty and Skan began trafficking methamphetamine and heroin in Ketchikan.  During the course of the conspiracy, the defendants travelled to the Lower 48 with drug proceeds to purchase narcotics and transport those narcotics on their person back to Ketchikan for subsequent distribution.  Based on a tip, law enforcement was notified that on January 25, 2015, Moriarty and Skan were scheduled to fly to Seattle, Washington, with drug proceeds to purchase narcotics.  On January 27, 2015, Moriarty and Skan were both contacted upon arriving back at the Ketchikan airport where they were searched pursuant to a search warrant.  During the search, law enforcement found approximately 141 grams of methamphetamine, 121 grams of heroin, and drug proceeds.  Law enforcement seized a total of $1,009 in U.S. currency that was obtained from the sale of narcotics and subsequently abandoned to the United States as part of the defendants’ pleas.

In sentencing Moriarty and Skan, Judge Burgess noted the seriousness of the crime, the extraordinary impact drug trafficking has in a small community, the criminal histories of the defendants, and the deterrence of the defendants and others as the reasons for the sentences he imposed.

Ms. Loeffler commends the Drug Enforcement Administration, Ketchikan Police Department, and the Port of Seattle Police Department who conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution in this case.