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Final two defendants plead guilty in major Alaska drug trafficking conspiracy

NOTN- The last two defendants in a six-person drug trafficking conspiracy pleaded guilty last week to charges stemming from a multi-state operation that funneled fentanyl and heroin into Alaska, federal prosecutors said..

According to court documents, Semaj Brown, 34, and Brandon Garrett, 46, both of Anchorage, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Julio Juarez, 32, of Anchorage, Marcelino Juarez, 30, of Anchorage, Shane Murphy, 43, of Wasilla, and Gustavo Sebastian Lopez-Chavez, 24, a Mexican national illegally residing in the U.S., to purchase fentanyl and heroin in California and transport the substances to Alaska through the mail or in checked airline baggage.

According to officials, the group trafficked at least 36 kilograms of fentanyl and about 10 kilograms of heroin.

The investigation culminated on Aug. 22, 2024, when U.S. Postal Inspection Service agents intercepted a suspicious parcel in Anchorage. A search warrant revealed more than two kilograms of fentanyl powder inside.

Days later, law enforcement conducted a controlled delivery, ultimately arresting Marcelino Juarez and Brown after observing them collect and transport the package. Garrett was detained in a separate vehicle nearby.

Authorities later linked Brown and Murphy to a July 2024 trip to Los Angeles, where they allegedly sourced additional fentanyl and heroin, including from Lopez-Chavez.

On July 6, airport security at Los Angeles International Airport seized a suitcase bound for Anchorage containing about one kilogram of heroin and two kilograms of fentanyl, when Murphy and Brown arrived in Alaska, they noted that the suitcase did not arrive.

Lopez-Chavez was arrested in Los Angeles on Nov. 14, 2024. At the time, he was carrying roughly 23 kilograms of fentanyl, along with cash and counterfeit immigration documents.

The Juarez brothers and Brown were identified as known gang members by the Stockton, California, Police Department.

All six defendants have now pleaded guilty. Marcelino and Julio Juarez entered pleas in July; Murphy pleaded guilty in April; Lopez-Chavez pleaded guilty in June; and Garrett was indicted in March before pleading last week.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced within the next three months. Marcelino Juarez, Brown, Murphy, Lopez-Chavez and Garrett face between 10 years to life in prison. Julio Juarez faces between 15 years to life in prison due to a prior conviction in California for attempted murder, for which he served 11 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI Anchorage Field Office and the Alaska High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task forces, with assistance from multiple agencies across Alaska and California.

U.S. Attorneys Tom Bradley, Jack Schmidt, and Bill Reed are prosecuting the case.

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Protesters call for police reform after Juneau man injured in arrest

By: Greg Knight, News of the North

A peaceful protest was held Saturday outside Juneau Police Department headquarters, following the arrest last week of 49-year-old Chris Williams, Jr.

Williams was medevaced to Anchorage after being taken to the ground by JPD Officer Brandon LeBlanc outside the Douglas Library. Video posted on social media shows LeBlanc taking Williams down during what police say was an arrest after Williams allegedly approached officers aggressively.

Nearly 100 protesters peacefully called for accountability and systemic police reform.

Organizer Jamiann S’eiltin said the incident reflects a broader pattern of violence against Indigenous people.

“This isn’t something new,” S’eiltin said. “This has been going on since almost time immemorial, since the arrival of Western European settlers. So, just want to put that out there that we are brutally attacked 10 times more than the national average, and that’s something to bring forward here today.”

LeBlanc is on administrative leave and an outside agency is conducting an investigation into the incident.

The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida, which confirmed Williams is a tribal citizen, is demanding transparency and a full inquiry.

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Human remains recovered in Gastineau Channel identified after 21 years

NOTN- Human remains discovered more than two decades ago in the Gastineau Channel have been identified as those of Darryl Bruce Fawcett, reported missing in 1999, authorities said Wednesday.

The Juneau Police Department, in coordination with the Alaska Department of Public Safety and the State Medical Examiner’s Office, confirmed the identification using new DNA analysis techniques made available this month.

Fawcett, who was said to be experiencing homelessness at the time, had not been in contact with family since September 1999. He was reported missing in December of that year after relatives became concerned when mailed checks were returned uncashed. Authorities said Fawcett may have briefly traveled to Yakutat, where local police confirmed he was seen before disappearing.

On March 13, 2004, a diver discovered human remains approximately 83 feet underwater in the Gastineau Channel near Merchant’s Wharf. The remains were recovered and submitted to the State Medical Examiner’s Office, but could not be identified with the forensic tools available at the time.

On July 21, 2025, the Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory implemented a new DNA extraction method capable of generating profiles from bones and teeth. Less than two weeks later, on July 31, officials confirmed the remains as those of Fawcett.

The Alaska State Troopers have notified Fawcett’s next of kin.

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Douglas library altercation leads to arrest and medevac

According to the proposed ordinance, when an officer-involved shooting occurs that causes death or serious injury to an officer or someone else, Juneau Police Department would release body-worn camera footage no later than 30 days after the incident. (Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau website)
According to the proposed ordinance, when an officer-involved shooting occurs that causes death or serious injury to an officer or someone else, Juneau Police Department would release body-worn camera footage no later than 30 days after the incident. (Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau website)
According to the proposed ordinance, when an officer-involved shooting occurs that causes death or serious injury to an officer or someone else, Juneau Police Department would release body-worn camera footage no later than 30 days after the incident. (Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau website)
A Juneau Police Department vehicle(Photo courtesy City & Borough of Juneau website)

A woman was arrested and a man was hospitalized following an altercation outside the Douglas Library on Wednesday evening, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Police responded to a report of a woman fighting with a man near the library at approximately 7:32 p.m. on July 30. Officers identified the woman as Marisa Didrickson, 47, of Juneau, and the man as a 52-year-old Juneau resident.

According to police, Didrickson allegedly threw water in the man’s face and made racially charged remarks, including comments suggesting the man, who is black, did not belong in Juneau. She was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct.

As officers attempted to place Didrickson into a patrol vehicle, she continued to shout at the 52-year-old man and directed a 49-year-old male friend to “take care of him,” while nodding toward the man, police said.

The 49-year-old, also a Juneau resident, then approached officers in what police described as an aggressive manner. the man was taken to the ground during arrest and sustained a head injury.

He was transported by Capital City Fire/Rescue to Bartlett Regional Hospital and later medevacked to Anchorage for further treatment.

Didrickson was transported to Lemon Creek Correctional Center. The incident remains under investigation, police said.

The press release comes after a video was circulated by a civilian on social media.

The arrest has sparked controversy in comments, with some saying the officer used unnecessary force.

The Juneau Police Department has requested and was granted assistance from an outside law enforcement agency to lead an investigation into the officer’s use of force in this incident.

Once the agency concludes its investigation, the State of Alaska Office of
Special Prosecutions will review the case to determine whether the use of force was consistent with AS.11.81.370.
The Officer involved has been placed on administrative leave per department policy.
Their name will be released following the investigating agency’s review.
In accordance with CBJ code, body-worn camera footage related to this incident will be released and posted on the JPD website 30 days from the date of the incident.

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Federal indictments, multiple arrests made in Juneau drug trafficking case

Seven people have been indicted and arrested in connection with a large-scale drug trafficking operation that funneled methamphetamine into Juneau from California, following a months-long investigation by state and federal law enforcement agencies, according to a press release by the Juneau Police Department.

Beginning in October 2024, Task Force Officers from the Alaska State Troopers’ Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit (SDEU) and Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD), working with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), launched an investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating out of Juneau.

The initial investigation began when task force members obtained evidence that showed that 41-year-old Juneau residents Patrick Iler, and 39-year-old Juneau resident Erika Porter were involved with the distributing methamphetamine throughout Juneau. 46-year-old Juneau resident Timothy Miller was identified as a distributor of methamphetamine working with Iler and Porter in Juneau.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized a combined 1.32 kilograms of methamphetamine, with an estimated street value of $130,000.

Investigators traced one of the drug sources to Highland, California. In May 2025, Alaska-based task force officers traveled to California and arrested 67-year-old Kinarla Miles, who is accused of supplying methamphetamine to the Juneau network.

Three other Juneau residents, 51-year-old Jerome Larue, 38-year-old Travis Lind, and 60-year-old Edie Seslar, were also arrested as co-conspirators.

Authorities estimate the drug ring distributed approximately 7 kilograms of methamphetamine in total, with an approximate street value of $700,000.

In May 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage indicted Miles, Larue, Lind, and Seslar on charges of drug conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.

In July 2025, additional indictments were filed against Miller, Porter, and Iler for drug conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Porter and Miller were arrested in Juneau on July 23 and 24 and booked into Lemon Creek Correctional Center on federal warrants.

The investigation is ongoing and involves coordination between the Alaska State Troopers, USPIS, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage.

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Cruise Passenger Missing after Hike in Juneau

Search and rescue crews in Juneau are looking for a missing cruise ship passenger who didn’t return from a hike Monday.

Police say 62-year-old Marites Buenafe, a Kentucky resident and passenger aboard the Norwegian Bliss, disembarked around 7:30 a.m. on July 1 and told family she planned to take the tram up the mountain and hike alone.

She never returned to the ship, which departed at 1:30 p.m.

Buenafe is described as 5’1″, about 110 pounds, with short black hair and brown eyes.

The Alaska State Troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue launched a search operation, which remains ongoing.

Anyone with information is urged to contact authorities.

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