Crime & Courts

2 arrested in California-to-Alaska drug investigation; 1 attempts escape

Drug enforcement officers on Monday busted a California man with nearly a quarter-pound of heroin at an Anchorage hotel and a 20-year-old local man who arrived at the scene with $3,000 and a loaded gun, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Around midnight Monday, Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit officers from the Mat-Su, along with Anchorage law enforcement, contacted 26-year-old Macario Jose Lopez of Stockton, California as part of an investigation into heroin flowing into Southcentral Alaska from California, troopers said.

Investigators obtained search warrants and arrested Lopez at the hotel. There, they reported finding 105 grams of heroin, which according to troopers has a street value of $31,000.

"Another male, identified as Kortland Lee Michael Lynch, age 26, of Anchorage arrived while investigators were on scene and was subsequently taken into custody after being found in possession of $3,000 and a loaded handgun," troopers reported.

Lynch initially gave officers a false name, troopers' spokesperson Megan Peters said Wednesday.

As police were taking Lynch to the Anchorage Correctional Complex, he tried to escape by exiting the vehicle and fleeing on foot. However, he was "shortly taken back into custody," troopers said.

Lynch was charged with drug and gun offenses, as well as attempted escape. His bail has been set at $1,000.

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Lopez was arrested on second- and fourth-degree drug charges. He was taken to the Anchorage jail with bail set at $5,000 and a court-approved custodian.

Correction: This article originally stated that the second individual arrested in the drug investigation was 20-year-old Carter Benjamin Nealy. The actual suspect, Kortland Lee Michael Lynch, 26, provided authorities with a false identity, which was reported to the public.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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