On February 24, it was announced that two Contra Costa men were indicted by an Anchorage grand jury on with 11 counts of sex trafficking, kidnapping and sexual assault for allegedly forcing the two young ladies into prostitution by intimidation, abuse, and with the use of narcotics.
Kendale Standifer, 37, of Concord, California and Jamal Williams, 34, of Antioch, California were each charged with two counts of first-degree sex trafficking; three counts of second-degree sex trafficking; four counts of third-degree sex trafficking; first-degree sexual assault; and kidnapping in connection with an alleged statewide prostitution operation.
The pair first popped up on Alaska State Troopers’ radar when a Cantwell-based trooper contacted them and two female companions during a traffic stop for speeding on the Parks Highway Feb. 7. The trooper, suspecting them of being involved in sex trafficking or drug trafficking, alerted the Alaska State Troopers’ Fairbanks Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) and the Special Crimes Investigation Unit (SDIU) in Anchorage.
On Feb. 11, Fairbanks police contacted Standifer and Williams regarding a rental vehicle that was reported stolen after it was not returned to the rental company as anticipated. Fairbanks police smelled an odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle and noticed Standifer had a large sum of money and seven to 10 phones in his possession. Based on this information, the SDEU was asked to respond.
Through their investigation, SDEU drug investigators found the two females, ages 19 and 20, who said they were being pimped out by both men in a statewide prostitution enterprise.
Investigators with SCIU and the Western Alaska Alcohol and Narcotics Team (WAANT) served a search warrant for a storage unit Standifer rented in Anchorage on Feb. 12 where an estimated $280,000 worth of drugs were discovered. Additional drug charges are forthcoming. Other search warrants served by drug investigators during the course of the investigation uncovered many items associated with sex trafficking including over $10,000 in cash, multiple cell phones, ledgers with clients names and phone numbers, and numerous documents on money laundering.
Both men have been incarcerated at the Fairbanks Correctional Center without bail since Feb. 11. both Standifer and Williams are facing 30-99 years of imprisonment if convicted. The FBI, DEA, IRS, U.S. Postal Investigators and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage are assisting with the on-going investigation.
Any charges reported in this release are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
