Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- A jury in Juneau has convicted a man on four felony counts associated with selling drugs to a police informant.

Aaron Washington will be sentenced after a second trial this fall on accusations that he ran a cocaine smuggling operation that used women to bring the drug to Juneau from Oregon, Washington and New York.

The Superior Court jury deliberated for about two hours before handing down a verdict on Thursday.

According to the Juneau Empire, Washington, 42, looked calm while Superior Court Judge Philip Pallenberg read the decision. He had no friends or family in the court when the verdict was read.

Much of Washington's trial focused on the testimony of Geralyn Sue Dougherty, 41, a police informant who told the jury that Washington had given her cocaine at his apartment in Douglas last spring. She also said she had smuggled drugs into Juneau twice on Washington's behalf.

During closing arguments, Washington's attorney, William Carey, told jurors that Dougherty was a liar and a habitual hard drug user whose memory of the alleged drug deals could not be trusted.

"Sue Dougherty's testimony is what supports this whole house of cards," Carey said. "And without her being credible, without her being believable, the house of cards falls."

Juneau District Attorney Doug Gardner said the testimony of police officers who worked with Dougherty confirmed her story and proved the state's case beyond a reasonable doubt.

Washington and alleged partner Vonnie Williams will be tried in that case in September. Williams has been held in the Lemon Creek Correctional Center since his arrest in the spring.

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