The District Attorney’s office in Juneau dropped all felony drug charges against three Wrangell residents on Feb. 13.
Law enforcement arrested 29-year-old Jacob Marshall and 39-year-old Cooper Seimears in January with eight felony counts for allegedly selling drugs and possessing weapons with drugs. Wrangell police charged 29-year old McKenna Harding with one felony count for allegedly selling and delivering drugs.
One week after their arrests, their charges were reduced to one felony count each for allegedly conspiring with the intent to promote and manufacture and/or deliver methamphetamine. And later that same week the District Attorney’s office in Juneau dropped all charges. KSTK contacted the DA’s office in Juneau and is still waiting to hear back.
The dropped charges came as a surprise
Wrangell Police Chief Gene Meek said the dropped charges came as a surprise.
“I was a little concerned myself, because the District Attorney’s office was very engaging right up to the point of getting the grand jury indictment true bill for all three subjects,” he said. “Then within five days, the case was dropped without that same communication.”
Meek said although the charges were dismissed, the investigation is still ongoing and the court case can be reopened.
“Our standards and their standards don’t always mix,” he said. “There will be times when we don’t agree on stuff, and that’s fine, but let me know what those things are before an event happens.”
Meek said this case was a big deal for the community because residents are concerned about drugs.
“The concerns that the public have are very real,” he said. “I do not believe Wrangell has received this its share of attention from the District Attorney’s office. For one example there have been four trials in the last six years.”
Harding’s attorney, Igor Herbey, couldn’t be reached, but his paralegal, Yauna Taylor said the office isn’t sure why the case was dismissed. Marshall’s attorney, Anna Ambrose, said in an email that she’s unable to make any comment.
