California man caged for role in isle meth and rifle trafficking

A 28-year-old Sacramento man was sentenced Wednesday in a federal courtroom in California to eight years in prison for his part in trafficking drugs and assault rifles to Hawaii, U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert of the Eastern District of California announced Wednesday.

Algernon Tamasoa pleaded guilty Jan. 11 to conspiracy to distribute meth and dealing firearms without a license, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release.

The drug investigation led to 44 individuals being charged in Hawaii and four being charged in San Francisco.

Court documents say Tamasoa conspired with Epati Malauulu, 42, of Suisun City, Calif., and others to buy high-quality meth in California and ship it to Hawaii. The meth was sold for a large profit on Oahu.

John Ortiz, 44, of Vallejo, Calif., and Francisco Poloai, 45, of Dixon, Calif., were also charged in the drug conspiracy in the Eastern District of California.

Court documents show Tamasoa sold 11 assault rifles to an undercover agent between Feb. 6 and May 27, 2015. Seven had high-capacity magazines.

Tamasoa also provided high-velocity ammunition, which can pierce bulletproof vests worn by law enforcement officers, in the first four firearm sales, the U.S. attorney’s office said. The bullets can also penetrate walls and doors in an urban setting.

Two of the rifles were manufactured by unlicensed gunmakers and had no serial numbers, making them untraceable.

Malauulu was sentenced April 26 to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Ortiz was sentenced May 17 to 10 years in prison for meth trafficking.

Poloai, the only remaining defendant in the drug trafficking case, is scheduled for trial Sept. 25.

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, a multiagency, multijurisdictional task force investigating and prosecuting the most significant drug trafficking organizations throughout the U.S., is responsible for the case, using federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, including the Honolulu Police Department.