Tripp J Crouse, KTOO

Seven people face federal charges in a drug trafficking conspiracy that intersects with New Mexico, Sitka and Juneau.

According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the seven defendants appeared Tuesday in federal court in Juneau. Judge Leslie Longenbaugh ordered their detainment pending trial.

The latest indictment alleges that New Mexico resident Christina Quintana, 32, conspired with others to distribute meth and heroin in Sitka, and threatened people with firearms to collect drug debts.

Quintana also faces charges in state court of felony assault in the March shooting of a Sitka woman.

According to the indictment, Eric Morisky, 30, of Juneau paid the airfare for Quintana and co-defendant Andrea Avalos, 22, of New Mexico, to fly from Juneau to Sitka in March, days prior to the shooting.

The release also named four Sitka residents in the indictment:

• Peter Krovina, 39;
• Porter Treadway, 36;
• Holly Chambers, 25;
• and Aaron Didrickson, 29.

According to the indictment, Quintana and others planned to rob and burgle Kane’s residence on Halibut Point Road in Sitka to collect a more than $15,000 drug debt. They ransacked the residence and took a Glock 10 mm handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun from inside.

Kane and her boyfriend were not home.

The indictment says when they did get home, Kane was ordered inside at gunpoint and her boyfriend was assaulted with a claw hammer. Quintana threatened Kane with the handgun, demanded payment for the drug debt and shot her in both legs.

Quintana and the group left carrying a suitcase with personal items belonging to the victims. The group then allegedly attempted to elude police, including hiding out on a yacht in Sitka’s Crescent Harbor.

Online records show all seven defendants in custody. Quintana is at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River. The others are in custody at Lemon Creek Correctional Center in Juneau.

Quintana and Treadway also are charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A jury trial is scheduled for July.

In this newscast:

• Army soldier in Alaska brigade dies in Afghanistan: The Army says a 22-year-old soldier assigned to an Alaska post has died in Afghanistan. Spc. Gabriel David Conde was killed Monday by enemy small arms fire in Tagab District. Alaska Gov. Bill Walker ordered U.S. and state flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Conde. Flags will be returned to full-staff at sunset Friday.
• Federal help in combatting drug trafficking: Alaska expects to receive federal funding to help combat drug trafficking, following a request from Gov. Bill Walker. The federal Office of National Drug Control Policy announced Tuesday that areas around Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau had been designated as high-intensity drug trafficking areas.
• Nenana Ice Classic ends with tripod tumble: The winning time for the Nenana Ice Classic is determined when a cable attached to a tripod on the Tanana River ice trips a clock on shore. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that happened at 2:18 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time on Tuesday, making the winning ticket time 1:18 p.m. Alaska Standard Time.

You can hear these stories and more at ktoo.sandbox.5mts.com/listen.

On Hoonah’s waterfront, a former eatery is undergoing a bit of a makeover.

The former Misty Bay Lodge will be the new home of Icy Strait Brewing, the Hoonah-based microbrewery.

Previous owners Dan Kane and his business partner Todd Thingvall sold the business, recipes and equipment to Tawney Letterman and Keith Quinn, who hope to open in time for the first cruise ship on May 12.

“We couldn’t have purchased a brewery from more solid people,” Letterman said. “They’ve been gracious as well and helpful getting everything thing over here and giving us any kind of guidance. … We definitely couldn’t have had more incredible people to purchase it from.”

Letterman, 29, previously worked in Vancouver, British Columbia. She hopes the influx of tourists will want to sample the brewery’s familiar oatmeal stout, blonde, pale ale and India pale ale.

When her mother and her mother’s business partner called about the opportunity to buy the brewery, Letterman couldn’t pass it up.

“I’m not totally sure how they found out about the brewery being for sale,” she said. “But they called me in December and asked me and my husband if we wanted to be a part of it. We said yes, and the rest is history.”

About a four-minute walk from the original site, the large two-story, red building will house the business.

Letterman and Quinn are busy fixing up the inside to utilize the space, and provide plenty of seating next to the building’s large windows overlooking the water.

Letterman calls it a “modest remodel,” but hopes to include some Southeast Alaska decor.

“It’s like a total construction site here right now,” Letterman said. “We obviously have a lot of work to do but we’re looking at two weeks hopefully.”

The outside will be repainted red to make it more vibrant and noticeable, and it’ll get a new sign for the brewery.

Letterman said they’ll keep all the previous beer recipes.

“We’re actually going to stay with the beers that Hoonah is familiar with. One of the brewers who worked at Icy Strait Brewery, the original one, came along with the brewery,” said the 10-year veteran of the service industry. “And he graciously agreed to come and get us started.”

The brewery previously rotated a smaller batch of blueberry blonde and also a short run of hefeweizen.

“I’m really into a Belgian hefe,” Letterman said. “I like lighter and more fruity beers, but I definitely have a place in my heart for the darker, more heavy beers. Just maybe not as often.”

The brewery also plans to sell growlers and will offer food under the Misty Bay brand.

Letterman said the brewery will get most of its ingredients from the Pacific Northwest and West Coast, but she wants to source locally whenever possible. So they’re working on getting hops grown in Hoonah.

“Just because we’re in a small town doesn’t mean that we don’t have the capacity to make a really high quality beer that you might find anywhere else,” she said. “It’s really exciting to be able to live in such a remote location and be able to do what we’re doing.”

In this newscast:

• Wolf kills dog along Brotherhood Bridge Trail: A wolf killed a dog Monday morning along the Brotherhood Bridge Trail, the second time a wolf’s killed a dog in Juneau in six months.
• Alaska man won’t face death penalty in fatal Florida airport shooting: An Alaska man will not face the death penalty on charges of killing five people and wounding six in a shooting rampage at a Florida airport, authorities announced Tuesday.
• Alaska State Trooper allegedly tried to meet 16-year-old girl for sex: Soldotna-based Alaska State Trooper Vance Peronto, 57, is charged with attempted sexual abuse of a minor after allegedly trying to meet a 16-year-old girl at an Anchorage hotel Sunday.

You can hear these stories and more at ktoo.sandbox.5mts.com/listen.

In this update:

• Ruby Princess to dock Monday; Industry expects 1.17M passengers this year: The first full-size cruise ship of the season is scheduled to dock Monday morning in Juneau.
  The Ruby Princess will land at 11 a.m. for an 11-hour stopover. The vessel can carry about 4,700 passengers and crew.
• Alaska Supreme Court: Thane Campground shooting lawsuit against city may move forward: The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday a lawsuit filed by the survivor of a shooting eight years ago at a city-run campground may proceed to trial. The justices clarified when local governments are immune from lawsuits.
• Former state senator appointed interim Denali Commission head: Former state Sen. John Torgerson has been appointed to run the Denali Commission while a search is underway for the organization’s next leader.

You can hear these stories and more at ktoo.sandbox.5mts.com/listen.

An alleged shoplifter was arrested Friday after fighting outside of Super Bear IGA, on Mendenhall Mall Road, Juneau.

A Juneau police news release says that officers responded to a report of a shoplifter attacking store employees. Employees told police they saw the man, who was later identified as Ronald Wheat, 50, stealing items. Wheat became combative when the workers confronted him outside.

One employee suffered minor injuries.

Wheat was arrested on charges that include disorderly conduct, assault and felony theft.

Wheat is in custody and being held without bail at Lemon Creek Correctional Center.