Additional charges were brought against a Seward man on Wednesday, Nov. 27, in connection to an ongoing Alaska State Trooper investigation into a drug operation Troopers busted in September 2023. 39-year-old John “Mitch” Spiers was identified as an accomplice of Michele Spiers and John Hoogland, who were both arrested in September on multiple drug-related counts after a two-month investigation.
According to AST, subsequent investigation into the arrests of Hoogland, 68, and Michele Spiers, 58, revealed that John Spiers played a significant role in the purchase, transportation, and sale of illegal drugs.
John Spiers, who was wanted on multiple warrants, had already been arrested in October on charges of Misconduct Involving Controlled Substances (MICS), Petition to Revoke Probation, False Report, Assault, and Criminal Mischief after Troopers were notified of his location. At that time, Spiers attempted to barricade himself in the residence of his brother Luke Spiers but surrendered without further incident, troopers said.
Michele Spiers and John Hoogland were both arrested in September following a two-month investigation by AST, beginning in July 2023. The pair were arrested after a search warrant was executed on a residence in Seward. There, Troopers discovered that Spiers and Hoogland were in possession of fentanyl pills, fentanyl powder, heroin, methamphetamine, hydrocodone, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, dronabinol, and suboxone with intent to distribute. Troopers also discovered packaging materials, digital scales, $1,674 dollars, multiple cell phones, counterfeit money, and ledgers detailing the sales of illegal drugs for over four years.
Multiple search warrants executed during the follow-up investigation of Michele Spiers’s and Hoogland’s September bust implicated several other individuals, including John Spiers, Troopers said.
Troopers added that further arrests are expected to be made in relation to this case.
John Spiers was remanded to Anchorage Correctional Complex with a bail of $50,000 on three counts of 2nd-degree Misconduct Involving Controlled Substances (MICS), four counts of 3rd-degree MICS, and one count of 4th-degree MICS.