Barrigada Man Sentenced to 120 months in Federal Prison for Trafficking Methamphetamine
Hagåtña, Guam – SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant Michael Joseph Salas, age 42, from Barrigada, Guam was sentenced in the U.S. District Court of Guam to 120 months imprisonment for Distribution of 50 or More Grams of Methamphetamine Hydrochloride, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). The Court also ordered five years of supervised release and a mandatory $100 special assessment fee. In addition, defendants convicted of a federal drug offense may no longer qualify for certain federal benefits.
On February 11, 2025, Salas agreed to sell three ounces of methamphetamine to a confidential informant. Salas had the informant drive him to a location to meet up with his source of supply. After receiving $3,300 from the informant, Salas met with his source and returned with a bag of methamphetamine. Upon returning to his residence, Salas packaged three ounces of the drug for the informant and kept an unknown quantity for himself. Salas previously sold one ounce of methamphetamine to the informant for $1,200. Federal agents executed a search warrant at the residence in March 2025. It resulted in the seizure of 34.22 additional grams of methamphetamine.
Salas has criminal convictions for possession of an unregistered firearm, second degree and third degree theft by receiving stolen property, and second degree promotion of major prison contraband.
“Repeat offenders who traffic drugs are prime targets for federal law enforcement,” stated United States Attorney Anderson. “They will face mandatory minimum sentences in federal court. Those sentences will be served at a Bureau of Prisons facility on the mainland, far from Guam. We will continue to aggressively prosecute those associated with this illicit activity.”
“Methamphetamine continues to ravage communities across the United States, extending beyond the mainland to Hawaii and territories such as Guam. Its trail of devastation leaves no corner untouched. Today’s sentencing proves to drug traffickers that they are not beyond the reach of the law," said David S. Olesky, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration Los Angeles Field Division, which covers Guam. "We will track them down and bring them to justice. DEA stands united with our federal partners to safeguard American lives.”
This investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Devarup Rastogi prosecuted this case in the District of Guam.
