3 days ago
Feds file Alaska's first case involving lethal opioid against Wasilla man already accused in fatal overdose
Jun. 12—PALMER — A 45-year-old Wasilla man already facing state murder charges linked to a teenager's death last November has been indicted on federal charges associated with a potent opioid he's accused of dealing.
A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted Sean Mobley on charges related to accusations he distributed carfentanil to two people: 16-year-old Alena Toennis, the teen killed by an overdose; and a man who nearly died from an overdose that same night, according to court filings.
Federal prosecutors say the case marks the first in Alaska involving carfentanil, a powerful synthetic opioid approved only for veterinary use. Authorities say the drug is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and 100 times more potent than fentanyl, the substance that's become Alaska's dominant opioid in recent years.
The drug is considered "one of the deadliest fentanyl analogues" at this time, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Mobley was jailed at Mat-Su Pretrial as of Thursday. He was arrested last month on state charges including second-degree murder linked to Toennis' death on a snowy trail in mid-November. He is accused of providing her with carfentanil and then abandoning her as she overdosed and died.
The new federal charges add another victim to the case, a person who took the same drug Mobley is accused of providing.
"Mobley is charged with killing a teenage girl and almost killing another person who survived only due to the quick intervention of others — all within a one-hour span," prosecutors wrote in a memorandum filed this week asking a judge to keep him in jail as he awaits trial. "The 'really good pow' that Mobley represented to the victims as fentanyl was in fact carfentanil — a highly potent veterinary opioid used to anesthetize large animals like elephants."
Mobley sold what he said was a quarter gram of fentanyl to the man and had "added a cutting agent" to increase volume, according to a witness description included in the memo. He got $100 for the drugs and left the man's house, then took a call from Toennis, it said.
They met at a gas station near Wasilla and Toennis got into Mobley's truck, according to the memo. Shortly after they left, the witness was told the man who bought from Mobley was overdosing.
The witness revived the man with Narcan and then messaged Mobley, told him about the overdose and warned him not to give the drug to Toennis, according to filings in the state criminal case.
Mobley apparently ignored the warning, taking Toennis to an isolated spot along Bogard Road around midnight and giving her the drug, the federal memo states. When she overdosed, he dragged her body out of his truck and abandoned her, it said.
He then "drove to a nearby parking lot with access to a wi-fi connection where he continued coordinating drug sales mere minutes after her death," the memo said.
The federal indictment charges Mobley with distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, distribution resulting in serious injury, and distribution to someone under 21.
It wasn't immediately clear how or whether the federal charges will lead to any changes in the way the state prosecutes its case against Mobley.
Patty Sullivan, a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Law, said in an email that the department couldn't comment about any plans.
"State and federal prosecutors have been communicating about this matter," Sullivan said.
[Despite nationwide declines, deaths from drug overdoses remain high in Alaska]
Mobley's first scheduled court appearance in mid-May sparked a rally on the street outside Palmer's courthouse that included members of Toennis' family.
Toennis' sister, Elyssa Toennis, said Wednesday it was "validating" to see the system taking the case so seriously.
"I hope these next steps bring accountability and justice," she said. "I hope this protects others too."
