Alaska man given 9 years in prison for heroin distribution

KENAI, Alaska – An Alaska man was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for distributing large quantities of heroin throughout the Kenai Peninsula, authorities said.

Matthew Sean Bremond, 32, of Soldotna was sentenced Jan. 15, The Peninsula Clarion reported Thursday.

Bremond pleaded guilty in September to one count of drug distribution, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement.

Bremond’s sentence includes the federal prison term followed by five years of supervised release.

Senior U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline expressed concern at the sentencing hearing that “large scale” drug traffickers like Bremond were “destroying communities.”

Bremond was arrested after he made two heroin sales of 126 grams (4.4 ounces) and 96 grams (3.4 ounces) from his residence in May 2018, Court records said.

A search of Bremond’s house, storage units and vehicle revealed evidence of drug trafficking including large quantities of firearms and cash, bulletproof vests and vehicles, records said.

Authorities seized 700 grams (25 ounces) of heroin and 40 grams (1.4 ounces) of cocaine intended for distribution from his property, records said.

Bremond agreed to forfeit more than $101,000, three vehicles and items including 58 firearms, two bulletproof vests, two bump stocks, and a gun silencer that were drug sale proceeds or used to facilitate his trafficking enterprise, records said.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Alaska State Troopers, and the Kenai Police Department conducted the investigation. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.