On Feb. 28, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska welcomed the appointment of a new U.S. Attorney, Michael Heyman. U.S. Attorney Heyman has prioritized, among other things, prosecuting federal crimes committed in rural Alaska communities.
In 2025, our office has already made significant progress in multiple cases impacting rural Alaska. The list of cases includes:
1) U.S. v. Jacob Cotton: Washington man indicted for 2023 fatal fentanyl overdoses in Skagway
2) U.S. v. Christopher Gilbert: Man arrested in Arizona for making bomb threats in Alaska, including rural Alaska
3) U.S. v. Ryan Greydanus et al.: Bethel man, 2 California men indicted, arrested in tramadol trafficking conspiracy
4) U.S. v. Ashley Katelnikoff et al.: Three Kodiak residents indicted for drug trafficking related 2022 fatal fentanyl overdose
5) U.S. v. Billy Ray Okpeaha Jr.: Utqiagvik man sentenced to 15 years for producing child pornography
6) U.S. v. Ryan Washington: St. Michael man sentenced for possessing firearm as a felon during domestic violence assault
7) U.S. v. Tina Yi: Nome businesswoman sentenced for tax evasion scheme
In February and March 2025, we also partnered with the Maniilaq Association and met with local and Tribal partners in Kotzebue, Kiana and Selawik to hear first-hand the struggles of public safety in rural communities. In Kiana, Assistant U.S. Attorney Alana Weber and Maniilaq partners met with the city council and tribal council to hear about violent crime concerns and presented on the new Maniilaq Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Program (MMIP) program, where they discussed the importance of reporting and collaboration with stakeholders as described in statutes such as the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010. In Kotzebue and Selawik, U.S. Attorney Heyman and Maniilaq partners met with local and tribal leadership and law enforcement to listen to public safety concerns and discuss federal resources available to investigate and prosecute crimes in those communities.
In April, U.S. Attorney Heyman and other staff traveled to the City of Newhalen to partner with Sandy Snodgrass from the AK Fentanyl Response Project and present on the dangers of fentanyl to a group of local schools. The team shared messages from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) “One Pill Can Kill” Campaign and the state of drug trafficking in Alaska to educate the students on how deadly fentanyl is. The team also met with local law enforcement and Tribal leadership to discuss public safety concerns and how federal resources could be used to investigate and prosecute crimes committed in rural Alaska. We thank these communities for their hospitality and for sharing their stories, and we thank the Maniilaq MMIP program and AK Fentanyl Response Project for hosting us. We are eager to do more outreach in rural villages soon.
Looking forward, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has events that may be of interest to AFN members. MMIP Regional Coordinator Ingrid Goodyear is actively working with multiple regions and communities on developing Tribal Community Response Plans (TCRPs) to expeditiously recover missing persons. More information on TCRPs can be found here. All villages and regions are invited to formulate a TCRP. Tribes interested in TCRPs should contact Ms. Goodyear.The DOJ also has a website dedicated to Tribal Justice and Safety information. This website includes information and updates from the Office of Tribal Justice, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, the Office of Justice Programs and the Office on Violence Against Women. Also, the next Alaska Tribal Public Safety Advisory Committee is scheduled for May 29, 2025, from 1-4 p.m. at the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building Formal Dining Room. This is an opportunity for participating Tribes and Tribal agencies to be involved in formulating suggestions to improve public safety in communities. If your Tribe or Tribal agency is not a member of the committee, but is interested in learning more about committee involvement, contact Ingrid Goodyear and Gloria Gorman, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Human Services Director.
Our office is dedicated to prosecuting federal crimes committed in rural communities. If Tribes or Tribal agencies are interested in learning more about federal jurisdiction and how federal crimes committed in rural Alaska could be prosecuted by our office, contact Olivia Young to set up a training with our office and local law enforcement.
Our ability to prosecute federal crimes in rural communities relies on reports from the community. Please continue to report tips to local, state and federal authorities. The more information you report, the more investigators can build a case that is provable in court.
Contacts:
Ingrid Goodyear, U.S. Department of Justice MMIP regional coordinator for the Great Plains region and Alaska; Ingrid.Goodyear@usdoj.gov or (907) 306-0669.
Gloria Gorman, BIA Human Services Director; GloriaK.Gorman@bia.gov.
Olivia Young, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska Law Enforcement Coordinator; Olivia. Young@usdoj.gov.