Two young Haines residents are facing felony drug charges after a package containing a significant amount of heroin was allegedly intercepted on its way to the local post office.
Twenty-four-year-old Wesley Dobbins and 19-year-old Bailey Stuart appeared in Haines court Wednesday. Both are charged with misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second degree, a class B felony. A judge found probable cause in both cases.
The maximum penalty for class B felonies is 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
According to charging documents, a package containing 14 grams of heroin allegedly addressed to Dobbins was intercepted by U.S. Postal Inspector Aaron Behnen earlier this month. Documents do not say where the discovery happened.
In court documents, police say Dobbins told them a friend in Washington sent him the package. According to the charging documents, Dobbins said he was planning to sell the drugs in Haines and split the profits with the sender.
But once the envelope was intercepted, inspector Behnen worked with local police to ensure that intent wasn’t carried out.
The charging documents say local police obtained a search warrant allowing Behnen to place an electronic alerting device into the package. It also authorized law enforcement to seize the package and its contents from Dobbins.
Behnen traveled to Haines with the package. He replaced most of the heroin with a decoy drug. Haines Police Chief Heath Scott says the 14 grams of heroin was turned over to local police.
Court documents say Behnen waited inside the post office and watched Dobbins pick up the package and get into a vehicle with Stuart. Local officers waited outside the building.
After receiving an alert tone indicating the package had been opened, officers allegedly removed Dobbins from the passenger seat of the vehicle and located the parcel. According to charging documents, Stuart was in the driver’s seat.
They were arrested in the post office parking lot.
Dobbins and Stuart were released from Haines police custody on their own recognizance Wednesday, under the condition they adhere to drug testing and at least weekly sobriety counseling.
Court records show Dobbins and Stuart have no previous drug arrests.
Their next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Oct. 31 in Haines.