Trapper Creek, Alaska – May 22, 2024: Two women were brutally murdered in a shallow grave near Trapper Creek, leaving a trail of bloodshed and heartbreak in their wake.
A federal grand jury in Alaska has returned an indictment charging Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, 56, Tamara Denise Bren, 41, and Kevin Glenn Peterson II, 29 with crimes connected to the murders of Sunday Powers and Kami Clark on May 22.
According to the indictment, the defendants engaged in a drug conspiracy and conspired to kidnap and murder Powers and Clark in furtherance of a drug trafficking enterprise that resulted in the distribution of over 33 kilograms of fentanyl, 11 kilograms of meth, four kilograms of heroin, and 57 grams of cocaine.
The indictment alleges that the defendants communicated in person and through phone calls and text messages to coordinate the kidnapping of Powers and Clark, using tracking applications on cell phones to confirm their location on the day of the murders.
They further organized multiple vehicles to meet the co-conspirators near Trapper Creek and had a conspirator carry a firearm to carry out the kidnapping. The conspirators restrained Powers and Clark under the threat of force by carjacking the vehicle they occupied, and Powers was able to call 911 before a conspirator ended the call.
The indictment charges all three defendants with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, killing in furtherance of continuing criminal enterprise, kidnapping conspiracy, kidnapping resulting in death, carjacking resulting in death, and use of a firearm to commit murder in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Bren and Sanchez-Rodriguez are also charged with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. The maximum penalty for the remaining charges is also life imprisonment.
The indictment is the result of an investigation by the FBI Anchorage Field Office, Drug Enforcement Administration Seattle Division, IRS Criminal Investigation Seattle Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Seattle Division, Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police Department, and the Palmer Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Vandergaw and Christopher Schroeder are prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Alaska
- Category: Violent Crime|Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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