Judge rules Anchorage attorney that feds say has cartel ties will remain in jail
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A federal judge ruled Thursday the Anchorage defense attorney federal prosecutors say worked with a Mexican drug cartel to traffic drugs in Alaska will remain in jail while his attorney works to continue drafting a potential release plan.
Justin Facey, 44, who pled not guilty to drug trafficking and firearm charges last week after the Alaska bar suspended him earlier this year, appeared in person with his attorney Nicholas Vieth.
Vieth told the court he is currently working with U.S. probation services to get Facey into an inpatient drug and mental treatment facility, but that remains challenging while Facey is held in administrative segregation.
A July 18 trial scheduling conference is still scheduled; however, Vieth said that given the case’s complexity and volume of discovery, he suspects the date to be delayed for up to one year.
Facey faces one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of firearms by a prohibited person.
Prosecutors say between April 2024 and April 2025, Facey used his Anchorage residence to “distribute and use” illegal drugs, namely fentanyl and methamphetamine, as well as illegally possessing four firearms, after saying law enforcement first became aware in June 2023 Facey was using his license to practice law in Alaska to facilitate a large-scale drug-trafficking organization.
According to court documents, law enforcement also discovered communications between Facey and Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, a man prosecutors have alleged used a contraband cell phone, while in a California prison, to run the Alaska drug-trafficking operation.
In October 2023, Sanchez-Rodriguez was indicted on federal drug trafficking and murder charges related to a Trapper Creek double homicide.
In total, more than 50 other defendants have been charged in connection with Sanchez-Rodriguez’s Alaska drug-trafficking operation.
Text message exchanges between Facey and Sanchez-Rodriguez, prosecutors say, detail plans to try and move an unnamed co-conspirator out of Alaska to avoid the Anchorage Police Department’s attempts to apprehend them.
Additionally, they allege Sanchez-Rodriguez sent Facey fentanyl pills to his residence, which, according to court documents, were presumably for the purpose of distribution.
“Thank you. Much appreciated. I feel funny not paying - we can credit it for when you need some legal work done, if you want? Setting up businesses is smart BTW. Make each of these girls a little revenue laundromat,” prosecutors say Facey responded to Sanchez-Rodriguez sending him the pills in a text message.
In another text message from November 2023, prosecutors allege Facey wrote, “I bought a new gun and some cocaine, as is customary amongst my people.”
Prosecutors also say law enforcement was able to protect a person Facey had tried to get Sanchez-Rodriguez’s help in assaulting before they could be harmed.
Through interviews with Facey’s former clients, law enforcement allege Facey coerced sex acts to pay for legal representation, with one individual describing him as “a drug addict, a pig, and a disgusting slob.”
Another December 2024 example, detailed in court documents, says after Facey promised a pregnant woman looking for housekeeping work $80 and a small amount of methamphetamine if she would have sex with him, he only paid her $60.
If convicted, Facey faces between five years to life in prison.
The indictment comes months after the Alaska Bar Association suspended Facey in February 2025 after 13 bar grievances and six fee arbitration matters were found within a three-year period.
Reagan Zimmerman-Hartzheim, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska, has previously said no comments can be made on this case as it’s ongoing.
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