A 30-year-old man nicknamed "Felon" faces a federal drug charge stemming from a car search by Alaska State Troopers that netted nearly a pound of methamphetamine.
Johnnylee Preston Burk has been charged with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of the drug. Troopers found about 447 grams of meth in Burk's car, according to charges filed in U.S. District Court on Monday.
Burk also faces various felony drug charges and a misdemeanor for violating his conditions of release in state court. In November 2014, he was busted for having less than an ounce of a controlled substance; the case is pending, according to court records.
Burk was more recently arrested in late January after a Palmer-based K-9 trooper pulled him over near Hyer Road and the Parks Highway for a traffic violation, said troopers public information officer Megan Peters.
The trooper's dog detected drugs on Burk's car, Peters said. Burk was also the subject of a Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit investigation, she said.
"Burk was known by his moniker or street name 'Felon' by patrol troopers and SDEU," she said.
Peters said the trooper's detection and the ongoing investigation helped get a search warrant approved.
Inside a duffel bag on the floor in the back of the car was a vacuum-wrapped package containing the large amount of meth, the charges say.
Troopers also reported finding a ledger, a notebook with names and dollar amounts next to each name.
Burk was searched too, and troopers found 1 gram of heroin and $439 in small bills. When Burk was removed from his cell at the troopers' Palmer post, "a pile of white crystalline substance" that had been crushed up and stashed under a bench was discovered. The powder turned out to be an additional 22 grams of meth.
Burk is currently jailed at the Anchorage Correctional Complex, said Department of Corrections spokeswoman Sherrie Daigle.