The Alaska district attorney’s office has dropped drug-related charges against Wrangell residents Cooper Seimears, 39, Jacob Marshall, 29, and McKenna Harding, 29.
Marshall remained in custody as of Feb. 21 for violating his terms of release on a previous charge, while Seimears was released once the charges were dropped.
Harding was the sole defendant to post bail before the charges were dropped on Feb. 13.
The initial charges came after police executed dual search warrants on the Seimears residence at 820 Zimovia Ave. and the Harding/Marshall residence at 131 Second St. on Jan. 28. Police seized methamphetamine at both residences. They also discovered and seized oxycodone, MDMA (ecstasy), cocaine and fentanyl at the Harding/Marshall residence.
After the charges were dropped, the firearms belonging to the defendants were returned while the illegal substances remained in the police department’s possession. Police Chief Gene Meek said some personal electronics belonging to Seimears and Marshall remain in the hands of the police, as they continue to execute search warrants amid the ongoing investigation.
“Obviously, there’s some indigestion,” Meek said of the dropped charges. “What I can tell you right now is this is not the end. We’re still at the beginning. This investigation is going to continue.”
The charges were dropped just five days after a grand jury indicted the trio on felony charges. This caught Meek by surprise, as the district attorney’s office was not very communicative with the Wrangell Police Department in the days between the grand jury indictment and the dropped charges, according to the chief.
He said the charges can be refiled and that the ongoing investigation may even shed light on additional players in Wrangell’s drug trafficking ring. But he remains disappointed by the state’s decision not to go to court.
“Wrangell has had four trials in six years,” he said. “There have been 220 arrests. … I’ve had conversations with the district attorney’s office. That’s concerning.”
The district attorney’s office did not respond to the Sentinel’s request for comment.
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