Alaska House of Representatives hopefuls Lynn Gattis and Mark Ewing in Wasilla, both Republicans, share something in common besides interest in the same House seat: troubled sons.
Ewing's son, Jeremy, was killed in 2009 in what has been described as a robbery / home invasion. According to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, it is thought the younger Ewing, who suffered with mental health problems, had been put up to the crime by others. The homeowner of the target property shot and killed Ewing during the break in.
Now, there is word Gattis' 19-year-old son could spend the next 20 years of life in federal lock-up. Robin Gattis was busted this March by Alaska State Troopers and other law enforcement for trafficking in what was then suspected to be the drug ecstasy. But by May of this year, state prosecutors had dropped the case.
Now, federal prosecutors say two months after the state case was dropped, Gattis was caught trafficking in bath salts, specifically a drug known on the streets as "molly" or "M-1," slang for the compound methylone, a controlled substance. According to investigators, the drug was shipped from China to another man in Kenai, at the behest of Robin Gattis. They also say the trio intended to deal the drug in Alaska.
Robin Gattis, Chad Joseph Cameron, 18, of Palmer and Stephen Kimbrell, 20, of Soldotna were indicted Thursday and arraigned Friday at the U.S. District court house in Anchorage.
All three defendants face a maximum 20 years in prison on charges of importing a controlled substance and with its intended distribution.
Gattis' mother, Lynn, told the Frontiersman in March: "My son Robin is an adult ... His father and I support Robin in all of his GOOD choice(s)." The paper added that during a conversation earlier that month, "She [Gattis] noted that this was not a good decision, but her son is a young man and that she hopes he can turn things around."