Former Anchorage defense attorney Justin Facey sentenced to 20 years for drug trafficking

U.S. District Judge Timothy Burgess on Tuesday, Oct. 6, sentenced former Anchorage criminal defense attorney Justin Abbott Facey to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday.

The prison term matched prosecutors' request and exceeded the 121-to-151-month advisory guideline range calculated by the probation office, according to the government's sentencing memorandum. That range was 10 years and one month to 12 years and seven months. His plea agreement listed a statutory prison range of five to 40 years, but Facey and prosecutors agreed that a sentence of at least 10 years was appropriate.

In handing down the sentence, the judge emphasized that Facey fell far short of his professional responsibility to seek justice and that he dehumanized and exploited vulnerable women in his drug trafficking, according to the announcement.

Prosecutors asked for the 20-year term in a sentencing memo filed Sept. 29, along with 10 years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. The memo acknowledges that 20 years is above the average sentence for 42 similar defendants in a federal sentencing database, but argued that Facey's role as a practicing defense attorney justified the longer term. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers wrote that Facey "has the dubious distinction of having appeared in federal court as both a practicing attorney and a criminal defendant."

Facey pleaded guilty June 22 to one count of a superseding indictment and admitted the forfeiture allegations. Under the plea deal, four other counts, including maintaining a drug-involved premises, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute with a minor present, and two firearms-related counts, were set to be dismissed at sentencing.

Prosecutors say Facey facilitated a drug trafficking organization run by Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, a California prisoner, in which more than 60 people have been charged, and that Facey used his Anchorage home to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine from April 2024 into 2025.

The sentencing memo also alleges conduct beyond the count Facey admitted: that he agreed in March 2023 to represent Tamara Bren, described as one of the organization's leaders, and took part of his fee as commercial sex with a low-ranking member; that he received and passed along fentanyl, bought drugs from a client and spent a client's roughly $50,000 auto settlement; and that he pressed women, including a pregnant woman in February 2025, to pay drug debts with sex.

The memo says the Office of Public Advocacy fired Facey after a 2021 affidavit by a juvenile probation officer reporting an inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old client.

The Alaska Supreme Court suspended Facey from practicing law Feb. 24, 2025, following 13 grievances and six fee arbitrations, citing a "substantial threat of irreparable harm to his clients," according to the memo.

Investigators searched Facey's residence April 30, 2025, and the memo says they found safes of drugs, scales and paraphernalia. Agents arrested him May 21, 2025, and he has been held in custody since.

Federal public defenders Melissa Winberg and Rilie Fry represented Facey at his plea hearing. Winberg filed a defense sentencing memorandum Sept. 29, but it was not available in the free public court record. The government's memo anticipated that Facey might object to a three-level enhancement for a supervisory role in the organization.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for Alaska was recused from the case with the exception of certain personnel; filings were signed under Scott Bradford, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon, who said Facey "egregiously betrayed his community while taking advantage of his clients and neglecting his ethical responsibilities."