Since September, four Seward residents have been arrested for their alleged role in the sale of illegal drugs since 2020, Alaska State Troopers said Friday.
A trooper dispatch first published on Sept. 20 describes the arrest of Michele Spiers, 58, and John Hoogland, 68, for possession of fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, hydrocodone, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, dronabinol and Suboxone. Troopers also reported finding packaging materials, scales, cellphones, counterfeit money and ledgers detailing sales. The two were charged with a total of eight counts of misconduct involving controlled substances across the second, third and fourth degree.
Since that arrest, two updates have been made to the dispatch detailing the same charges brought against John Spiers, 39, on Nov. 27; and Daniel Hickey, 42, on Dec. 14.
Affidavits by Trooper Joshua Yavorsky, included in charging documents for Michele Spiers, Hoogland and Hickey, describe 24 search warrants served in the investigation. Hickey, the most recent arrest, was the first to be investigated, per the affidavits — beginning on April 8, 2023. Michele Spiers was identified as “an illegal business associate” during the investigation.
Hickey was ultimately arrested and separately charged with six counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance and five counts of misconduct involving weapons on April 22, 2023, and released on a performance bond of $20,000 in that case on Sept. 27, 2023.
Michele Spiers and Hoogland were investigated by troopers after being identified in the first investigation against Hickey on July 23, 2023. The affidavit says that investigation led to a search of their home on Sept. 19, 2024, when the various drugs, ledgers, cellphones and counterfeit bills were found in a safe in their bedroom.
The ledgers, the affidavit says, date back to Jan. 16, 2020, including names of customers, which drugs were purchased and for how much. The safe contained, the affidavit says, around 250 doses of methamphetamine valued at around $5,000. Both Michele Spiers and Hoogland refused to speak to police and were arrested and charged.
The next day, the affidavit says that Seward troopers began to search Michele Spiers’ CashApp account, finding more than 100 transactions between Hickey and Michele Spiers between Jan. 10, 2023, and Sept. 11, 2024, that totaled around $13,000. They found 203 transactions from Michele Spiers to John Spiers, her son who also goes by Mitch, totaling more than $30,000. Text messages exchanged between Michele Spiers and Hickey were also recovered, as were Facebook messages between Michele Spiers and John Spiers.
When troopers attempted to contact Hickey on Nov. 14, they found he wasn’t with either of his custodians described in his conditions of release for the previous case, and he was arrested. Charges weren’t brought in the current case until Dec. 14, after further interviews with Hickey’s employer and a search of his property at Wildwood Pretrial Facility.
John Spiers, too, was already in custody for other charges in a separate case when charges were brought against him on Nov. 27.
The trooper dispatch says that the “numerous” search warrants executed in this case have “implicated several other individuals.”
“Further arrests are expected to be made in relation to this case,” the dispatch reads.
Michele Spiers, John Spiers and Hoogland were all indicted by a Kenai grand jury on Dec. 4. The indictment describes the same eight charges, two counts of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, four counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance and two counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.
On Tuesday, Michele Spiers and her attorney, Sergei Ostrovskiy, appeared telephonically for an arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse to submit a not guilty plea in response to the indictment. Michele Spiers has posted a $10,000 performance bond and is out of custody. She next appears in court for an omnibus hearing on Jan. 15 at 3 p.m. in Seward and has a trial call scheduled for Feb. 3.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
