Two Anchorage Men indicted on multiple drug charges including conspiring to distribute drugs that resulted in death of a minor

Anchorage, Alaska - U.S. Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that two Anchorage residents  are charged with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the death of a minor, as well as distributing heroin that resulted in the same death.  

Sean Michael Warner, 28, and Max Raymond Jewett, 36, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage.  Both Warner and Jewett are charged with participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy that resulted in the death of a minor, as well as distributing heroin that resulted in the same death.  In addition, Warner was also indicted for distributing a controlled substance to underage individuals, distributing drugs within 1000 feet of an elementary school, and maintaining drug-involved premises within 1000 feet of a school and playground.

According to the indictment presented to the court, by December 23, 2011, Warner and Jewett were conspiring together and with others to distribute controlled substances, including the controlled substance that caused serious bodily injury and death to a minor.  Warner and Jewett are both alleged to have distributed the heroin that caused the death of the same minor. 

In addition, the indictment alleges that in the days prior to the drug-related death of the one minor, Warner distributed heroin to a different minor.  Additionally, the indictment alleges that in late 2011, Warner’s residence was a drug-involved premises located within 1000 feet of both a playground and Turnagain Elementary School.  Also during that time, Warner distributed methamphetamine and heroin in close proximity to both Turnagain Elementary and a playground.   

Assistant U.S Attorney Kimberly Sayers-Fay and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Regan Williams, a state district attorney, presented the case to the grand jury.  The federal indictment parallels a state manslaughter indictment of Warner returned in January 2012, and reflects a joint determination by the State of Alaska and the U.S. Attorney’s Office that federal prosecution was appropriate in this case.  Sayers-Fay, a federal prosecutor, and Williams, a state prosecutor, will cooperate in the prosecution of this case in federal court.           

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sayers-Fay advised that the two counts on which both Warner and Jewett were indicted carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, accompanied by up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $1 million fine.  The charges of drug distribution resulting in death and conspiring to distribute drugs resulting in death each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. 

The charges against Warner of engaging in the alleged distribution of drugs to underage individuals, distributing drugs near a school and playground, and maintaining drug-involved premises near a school and playground, carry maximum penalties of 40 years’ in prison and lifetime supervised release, and maximum fines ranging from $1 million to $2 million. 

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.