Five people were arrested on charges related to a drug bust Friday resulting in the seizure of about 17,000 fentanyl pills plus other drugs, $23,000 in cash and several firearms, according to a Juneau Police Department bulletin issued Monday.
Search warrants were served Friday at residences in the 500 block of Seward Street and 4000 block of Windfall Avenue by investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) task force, according to JPD. The warrants were related to an ongoing SEACAD drug investigation that began in January.
“During the search warrant service at the residence on Windfall Ave, one of the targets of the investigation, 36-year-old Shane Michael Hart, was outside and saw investigators approaching the residence,” the JPD bulletin states. “Hart ran inside and attempted to barricade the front door.”
Investigators contacted Hart and another resident, 29-year-old Mekena Lee Wutzke, soon after, according to JPD. A third resident, 56-year-old Deeann Marie Hanson, was not home and was located soon afterward in the downtown area driving a Dodge Durango.
At the residence on Seward Street, investigators serving the warrant contacted the residents — 63-year-old Andrew Cousins and 55-year-old Tina Renee Cousins — outside in a Toyota Sienna.
Seized by SEACAD members were approximately 17,000 fentanyl pills, 94 grams of methamphetamine, 0.2 grams of fentanyl powder, three grams of cocaine, $23,000 cash, three pistols, one AR-15 pistol and one disassembled AK-47, according to JPD. The combined value of the seized narcotics is estimated at $341,000.
All five suspects were taken to Lemon Creek Correctional Center.
Hart and Hanson were each arrested on eight charges: One count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, a class A felony offense; one count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree, a class B felony offense; three counts of misconduct involving weapons in the second degree, a class B felony offense; and three counts of misconduct involving weapons in the third degree, a class C felony offense.
The charges against Hart were modified during his initial court appearance Saturday to include the two drug-related charges and two of the class B weapons charges, excluding the third class B weapons charge and three class C weapons charges, according to the Alaska Court System online database. Hanson was charged with the two drug charges and three class B weapons charges, with the three class C weapons charges omitted.
Wutzke and Andrew Cousins were each arrested and subsequently charged with one count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree. Tina Cousins was arrested and charged with one count of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree.
Preliminary hearings for all five defendants are scheduled at 11 a.m. Friday at the Juneau Courthouse.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at mark.sabbatini@juneauempire.com or (907) 957-2306.
