United States Drug Enforcement Administration

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Kodiak man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to distribute deadly drugs that resulted in a fatal overdose in August 2022.

While on pretrial release for state felony charges he committed in March 2022, Gerry Pugal, 38, agreed to receive and distribute drugs in Kodiak on behalf of a drug trafficking organization allegedly run by a California inmate serving a life sentence at the time.

Court documents detail that members of the drug trafficking organization would mail drugs to Pugal in Kodiak, and Pugal would then distribute the drugs to a series of lower-level dealers who worked for him. Ashley Katelnikoff, 38, and Kalani Coyle, 33, were two dealers working for Pugal.

On Aug. 25, 2022, a male victim messaged Katelnikoff that he was in town. Katelnikoff responded asking, “You need anything?” They messaged about purchasing drugs, specifically “blues,” which is a slang term for M-30 fentanyl pills. Katelnikoff agreed to sell the victim five pills for $300. Later that evening, Katelnikoff sold the pills to the victim after picking him up at a local hotel he was staying at.

Around 4 a.m. on Aug. 26, the victim’s mother discovered his body in their hotel room bathroom. Investigators found evidence that the victim used some of the blue pills. Lab testing confirmed the victim had a lethal amount of fentanyl in his bloodstream.

Court documents further explain that months after the fatal overdose, Pugal continued dealing drugs for the organization. On Oct. 23, 2022, Kodiak Police officers responded to Pugal’s residence to execute an arrest warrant following a petition to revoke his state supervision. They searched the house and found Pugal hiding in the refrigerator in possession of fentanyl pills and methamphetamine.

 Pugal was arrested and later released by the state on bond.

On Nov. 21, 2022, U.S. Postal Inspectors identified a suspicious parcel shipped from California to Kodiak. Inspectors obtained a search warrant for the parcel and discovered over 880 grams of methamphetamine, over 50 grams of cocaine and almost 5,000 fentanyl pills. These drugs had a street value of over $500,000. Agents seized the drugs and replaced them with a tracking device.

Roughly a week later, law enforcement officers delivered the package to its intended address as part of the investigation. They observed co-defendant Coyle arrive in a vehicle, pick up the package and bring it back to his trailer. Later that day, Coyle transferred the package to Pugal’s residence. Pugal instructed Coyle to take the package somewhere else and open it to make sure they were not being “set up.” Coyle opened the package in a different location and discovered the tracking device. Coyle returned to Pugal’s residence with the device before officers entered to detain both defendants.

On Oct. 28, 2025, Pugal pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death. During sentencing, the Court also ordered Pugal to serve the rest of his life on supervised release upon completion of his custodial sentence.

“Mr. Pugal recruited those close to him to do his dirty work and profited off the vulnerable population in Kodiak with zero regard for consequences or for the rule of law. Now, he will spend the next two decades behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “This case is a tragic reminder of the phrase, ‘One Pill Can Kill,’ because it is likely that one pill originating from Mr. Pugal had just enough fentanyl in it to kill this victim.”

“Fentanyl traffickers like Mr. Pugal make a profit by peddling poison and while he distributed the fentanyl that led to a fatal overdose, that didn’t stop him, he continued dealing drugs,” said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “The sentence today shows these actions have grave consequences and Mr. Pugal will not be a threat to the health and safety of our community for many years. DEA remains unwavering in our commitment to saving American lives and making America Fentanyl Free.”

Co-defendants in this case are as follows:

• Katelnikoff, of Kodiak, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances resulting in death on Aug. 4, 2025. Katelnikoff is scheduled to be sentenced on April 2, 2026.
• Coyle, of Kodiak, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute on July 2, 2025. Coyle was sentenced to five years in federal prison on Nov. 20, 2025.

The DEA Seattle Field Division's Anchorage District Office investigated the case, with significant assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Anchorage Domicile, IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Field Office, Alaska State Troopers and the Kodiak Police Department.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of drug trafficking and violent crime.

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