A federal judge sentenced a 57-year-old Waimanalo man to 17 years in prison Monday for selling methamphetamine to a law enforcement informant in 2009.

Ashford Kaipo Spencer was found guilty by a jury on June 1, 2011 of selling methamphetamine to the informant near Waimanalo Shopping Center, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release today.

Spencer sold about two ounces in April 2009 for $6,000 and a similar amount in June 2009 for $5,600.

U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright sentenced Spencer Monday.

Florence T. Nakakuni, United States Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said Spencer’s two prior felony convictions involving kidnaping/robbery and criminal property damage in the first degree in state court were a factor in determining the length of his sentence on the methamphetamine charges.

The case resulted from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Thomas and Ron Johnson.