Anchorage Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Distributing Controlled Substances
Mailed Parcel with Fentanyl and Methamphetamine from Las Vegas to Anchorage
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Anchorage man was sentenced earlier this week to 10 years in prison for the distribution of controlled substances.
According to court documents, beginning around May 2025 and continuing into September 2025, Shane Norman Caliph Derryberry, 59, sold approximately 100 grams of fentanyl powder to multiple individuals. Mr. Derryberry distributed these drugs with the assistance of Michele Rider, the co-defendant who has also been sentenced in this case.
Additionally, in September 2025, Mr. Derryberry and Mr. Rider traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada and mailed a parcel to Ms. Rider’s residence a few days later. The parcel contained approximately 190 grams of fentanyl powder and approximately 20 grams of methamphetamine. On September 16, 2025, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on several of the apartments where the defendant and Ms. Rider lived. Agents recovered methamphetamine, fentanyl, and $2,685 in drug sale proceeds.
Ms. Rider was sentenced on October 14, 2026, to over 8 years in prison. Both defendants were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Aaron Christian Peterson.
“The shipments of drugs from other states, especially in regard to fentanyl, has caused havoc in Alaskan communities,” said Michael J. Heyman, U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska. “The harm these drugs cause is pervasive and deadly, and our office will pursue anyone who is shipping and distributing such dangerous substances into our state.”
“A menace to society, Mr. Derryberry and his interstate drug trafficking crimes posed significant harm to Alaska and its residents,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Working closely with our law enforcement partners, the FBI will use every available resource to identify and hold to account drug traffickers who prey on our communities.”
This case was investigated by the FBI Anchorage Field Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Anchorage District Office, Seattle Field Division, the Anchorage Police Department (APD) as part of the Anchorage HIDTA team, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Anchorage Domicile.
