Anchorage police arrested four local men it says were part of a family-run marijuana grow and heroin smuggling operation in a series of raids Tuesday, seizing nearly $200,000 in cash and drugs, hundreds of marijuana plants and property believed to have been purchased with drug proceeds.
In a Wednesday statement on the case, APD spokesperson Anita Shell says the investigation by the department’s Vice Unit, which began Nov. 7, initially targeted a single family but expanded as officers learned more about the operation.
“Police conducted extensive surveillance on William Garret Patrick, 56, and his two sons: Jared Lloyd Jackson Patrick, 25, and John Jacob Patrick, 28, all of Anchorage,” Shell wrote. “During the course of the investigation, police discovered an associate, Colt Allen Burdick, 27, of Anchorage, was also involved in the enterprise.”
Police executed five search warrants Tuesday, raiding trailers across town: two at 3307 Boniface Pkwy. in Midtown and one each at 701 S. Klevin St. in Mountain View, 4031 Lore Rd. in South Anchorage and 227 Newell St. in Muldoon.
“Large marijuana grow operations were found at both Boniface locations (which were unoccupied) as well as the trailer on Newell Street,” Shell wrote. “Police seized a total of 239 marijuana plants, in various stages of growth, from those three trailers.”
Three newer-model vehicles and two guns were seized during the raids, as well as $135,000 in cash and 7.5 ounces of heroin with a street value of $63,000. The value of the marijuana plants had yet to be determined Wednesday, as police dried and weighed them.
William Garrett Patrick has been charged with one first-degree count and four fourth-degree counts of misconduct involving controlled substances, plus one count each of second-degree and third-degree misconduct involving weapons. John Jacob Patrick faces one second-degree count and 11 fourth-degree counts of misconduct involving controlled substances, while Jason Lloyd Jackson Patrick and Burdick have each been charged with four counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving controlled substances.
The four men are being held on varying amounts of bail, ranging from $110,000 for William Garrett Patrick to $38,000 for Burdick, with a court-approved third-party custodian required for release. They are all scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday.
Agencies assisting with the seizures included the Alaska State Troopers and the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Police Department, in addition to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Internal Revenue Service.
Editor's note: The address of the trailers on Boniface Parkway has been updated by APD in a correction from its original press release.
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