A Juneau man facing federal drug conspiracy charges will be released to the custody of his mother, a judge has ruled.
But Christian John Peters, 44, will be on electronic monitoring and faces stringent conditions of release, U.S. District Court Judge Kevin McCoy said Tuesday afternoon. McCoy appeared remotely from Anchorage, as did Peters’ attorney, D. Scott Dattan.
Peters was arrested Aug. 9 along with Tiffany Jo Spaulding, 34, at their residence in the 400 block of Fourth Street after reportedly receiving a package of methamphetamine and oxycodone through the mail.
Dattan told McCoy that Peters would agree to “just about anything to avoid sitting in prison.” His mother testified that he had assured her he would listen to her and not violate his conditions of release, because he did not want her to go to jail.
Assistant U. S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt opposed the release to a third-party custodian, telling McCoy that Peters poses a danger to the public.
Schmidt buttressed his argument with testimony from two Juneau Police Department officers.
Officer Jason Van Sickle testified that in December 2016, he responded to a report of a break-in of a storage unit on Anka Street, and that a gun stolen from there was found in Peters’ possession; Peters told Van Sickle he had no idea it had been stolen and was cooperative in returning the weapon to its owner.
Officer Carl Lundquist, who is with the drug enforcement unit, testified to multiple incidents involving Peters, none of which resulted in charges being filed.
In December 2015, Lundquist said, a package containing meth was delivered to Peters’ address; he denied knowledge of its contents.
In December 2016, Lundquist said Peters was linked to a stolen four-wheeler and a stolen rifle. In January, Peters was stopped in a truck with no license plate and had no ownership documents; the truck was eventually determined to have been stolen in California. A crate that had been in the truck contained two stolen handguns, Lundquist said.
Also in January, a stolen Chevrolet Blazer was linked to Peters, and a search of the vehicle reportedly turned up a sawed-off shotgun with a pistol grip. And in May, Peters was linked to a stolen Suzuki Samurai, which he said was given to him by another man.
While Peters does only have two prior convictions, Schmidt told McCoy, the package delivered to his house last week contained a “very large amount” of meth, and he had been repeatedly found in possession of stolen vehicles and firearms.
“I don’t think the conditions are sufficient to protect the community,” Schmidt said.
McCoy granted the proposal to release Peters to the custody of his mother, whom he said seemed like “an upstanding citizen,” with conditions that include electronic monitoring, the surrender of his passport, no contact with Spaulding, no guns, alcohol or drugs, and a curfew.
A detention hearing for Spaulding that had been set for Tuesday was canceled because she had not yet completed a proposal for her release, according to court documents.
Peters and Spaulding were arrested after a multi-agency warrant search of their house at 427 Fourth St.
[Two arrested in Fourth Street house on federal drug charges]
According to the criminal complaint filed against them, the U.S. Postal Service Inspector identified a suspicious package on Aug. 6 addressed to a “Rosetta Stone” at the Fourth Street address, which contained 50 pills identified as oxycodone and 221 grams of suspected methamphetamine.
An electronic alerting and tracking device was placed inside the package, which was then delivered to the front porch of the residence Aug. 9 and was retrieved by Spaulding. Peters arrived about 15 minutes later and the electronic monitoring device subsequently alerted the investigators that the parcel had been opened.
Spaulding reportedly told investigators that Peters opened the package; he allegedly claimed he had no knowledge of the contents of the parcel, and opened it out of curiosity.
A subsequent search of the residence reportedly uncovered a digital scale and a suspected drug ledger, suspected meth and marijuana, ziplock bags and drug paraphernalia including pipes and needles, and the recording system for security cameras at the residence.
The week before, JPD officers searched the neighboring house at 423 Fourth St.; the search warrant reportedly was for a stolen gun, but no arrests were made.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
