An Anchorage man has been convicted by a federal jury on charges related to a 2019 murder and his leadership role in a drug dealing ring that imported heroin and methamphetamine from the Lower 48.
Matthew Wilson Moi, 36, was one of six men arrested as part of the drug ring. The other men have since pleaded guilty to varying charges, including managing a continuing criminal enterprise, drug conspiracy and money laundering.
Jordan Shanholtzer operated a drug trafficking enterprise from 2017 until 2019 and generally brought the drugs to Alaska through the mail, according to the indictment. Shanholtzer moved from Anchorage to Arizona and eventually Florida, and placed Moi in charge of the drug business in Alaska while he worked from the other locations, the indictment said.
A package of drugs was mailed to 23-year-old Navarrow Andrews in 2019, and Moi and the others in the drug enterprise spent several days trying to recover it, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Moi concluded the drugs had been stolen and shot and killed Andrews in an Anchorage alley, the statement said.
After the shooting, Moi fled to Louisiana, then Los Angeles, prosecutors said. He continued working with the drug ring and directed shipments to Alaska. Federal investigators intercepted a package of heroin addressed to Wasilla in 2019 and arrested the involved men.
Jurors reached guilty verdicts Friday after a three-week trial. He was found guilty on charges of murder in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise, using a firearm to commit murder in a drug trafficking crime, drug conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
A date has not been set for Moi’s sentencing, but a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska said the hearing will be at least a few months out.