Federal charges for man allegedly caught with half-kilo of meth

ANCHORAGE — A man arrested in late January with a half-kilo of methamphetamine now faces federal drug charges, court documents show.

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Johnnylee Preston “Felon” Burk, 30, of Wasilla, is charged with federal possession with intent to distribute for more than 50 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine, according to court documents.

Alaska State Troopers stopped Burk about 2 a.m., Jan. 29 on a traffic violation, and then obtained a search warrant for his black GMC Yukon and his person, according to a federal criminal complaint authored by Rick Pawlak, an Alaska State Trooper assigned to a DEA task force. A trooper K9 unit stopped Burk’s truck near the intersection of Hyer Road and the Parks Highway, according to spokeswoman Megan Peters.

When troopers searched the truck, they found a duffle bag containing a 446.74-gram package — about 1 pound — of methamphetamine, according to the complaint.

“The methamphetamine was wrapped inside a number of layers of packing, all of which was inside a vacuum-sealed plastic sleeve,” Pawlak wrote.

They also found a notebook containing several names and dollar amounts, according to the complaint.

When troopers searched Burk, they came up with a baggie containing heroin, $439 in small cash bills, a cellphone, and a plastic container of marijuana wax, according to the complaint.

When Burk left his holding cell at the Palmer troopers post, a trooper found a pile of “a white crystalline substance” under the bench, which turned out to be 22.13 grams of methamphetamine, according to the complaint.

Burk remained in the Anchorage Jail Thursday afternoon.

His nickname, “Felon,” was apparently ironic. Burk’s Alaska court records show no felony convictions. He was charged with several felonies in 2012, but they were dismissed by the prosecution, according to CourtView Justice Solutions.

Burk had previously been charged in Superior Court

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.