Six arrested in meth, heroin bust in Kasilof

  • Friday, February 20, 2015 12:52pm
  • News

A two-month investigation into distribution of methamphetamines and heroin in the Kasilof area resulted in the arrest of six people Thursday.

At about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, members of the Soldotna office of the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit, along with the Alaska Bureau of Investigations, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Kenai Police Department, Soldotna Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and Homeland Security served search warrants at a residences on Tustumena Lake Road and Friendship Avenue in Kasilof.

According to troopers, four suspects were identified during the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit investigation. Troopers say evidence was collected through controlled buys, mobile and static surveillance operations.  

Arrested in Thursday were Joshua Tri, 30, of Kasilof, for two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance; John Fisler, 51, of Kasilof, for four counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance; Stacy Whiteley, 40, of Soldotna, for fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance; and Ashley Armknecht, 23, of Soldotna, for probation violations.

At about 9 p.m. Thursday, Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit and Alaska Bureau of Investigations officers contacted Isis Holcombe, 18, of Kasilof, and Levi Shannon, 18, of Kasilof, as they were attempting to deliver methamphetamines and heroin, according to a trooper report. Holcombe was arrested for two counts of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, and two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance. Shannon was arrested for three counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.

All six individuals were arrested without incident and remanded to Wildwood Pretrial Facility where they were held without bail.

Troopers say the investigation is continuing and additional charges are pending.

More in News

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Senior Prom King and Queen Dennis Borbon and Lorraine Ashcraft are crowned at the 2023 High Roller Senior Prom at Aspen Creek Senior Living in Kenai, Alaska, on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023.
Senior prom crowns king and queen

In brainstorming options, the concept of putting on a prom turned some heads

A photo distributed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows a man who allegedly robbed the Global Credit Union branch located in Anchorage, Sept. 19, 2023. Tyler Ching, 34, was arrested last week on charges related to robberies at the credit union and an Anchorage bank. (Photo courtesy Federal Bureau of Investigation)
Alleged bank robber arrested in Cooper Landing

An Anchorage resident was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in… Continue reading

A seal rescued earlier this summer by the Alaska SeaLife Center awaits release on the North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
2nd harbor seal release draws large crowds

The seals were Pierogi, Pringle and Belle de Fontenay

Attendees search the waters of the Kenai River for sightings of Cook Inlet belugas during Belugas Count! at the Kenai Bluff Overlook in Kenai, Alaska on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Belugas Count! celebrated in Kenai

At a viewing station on Kenai’s bluff overlook, dozens gathered and peered out over the Kenai River during a morning session

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Finance Director Elizabeth Hayes, left, gives a presentation on the school district’s FY23 budget at Soldotna High School on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. Hayes during the KPBSD Board of Education’s Sept. 11, 2023, meetings, debuted first of an informational “Budget 101 Series.” (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
School district warns of looming $13 million deficit in first ‘Budget 101’ presentation

The first installment explored Alaska’s foundation formula

Clockwise from bottom left: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska Division Commander Col. Jeff Palazzini, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor participate in a signing ceremony for a project partnership agreement for the Kenai Bluff Stabilization Project at the Kenai Senior Center on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Bluff stabilization agreement signed

The agreement allows the project to go out to bid and construction to begin

Lyndsey Bertoldo, Penny Vadla and Jason Tauriainen participate in a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education candidate forum at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board candidates tackle budget deficits, home-schooling, school maintenance

The discussion was the first of two forums featuring KPBSD school board candidates

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Brad Snowden and Julie Crites participate in a Seward City Council candidate forum at the Seward Community Library in Seward on Thursday.
Seward council candidates discuss issues at election forum

Participating in Thursday’s forum were Julie Crites and Brad Snowden

Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Soldotna adopts arts and culture master plan

The plan outlines how the city plans to support arts and culture over the next 10 years

Most Read