2 Alaskans, California inmate indicted for orchestrating Trapper Creek killings

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Three drug traffickers were charged in federal court last week in connection to the killings of two women in Trapper Creek earlier this year.

According to the Department of Justice, Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, 56; Tamara Denise Bren, 41; and Kevin Glenn Peterson II, 29, were indicted on multiple charges related to heading up the kidnapping and killing of Sunday Powers and Kami Clark, both Alaskans, in May 2023.

Sanchez-Rodriguez operated the entire time from behind bars in California. The leader of the drug trafficking enterprise, Sanchez-Rodriguez communicated with Bren and Peterson using contraband phones. A month after the murders, Bren and Peterson were taken into the custody of the State of Alaska on separate charges.

The DOJ stated the killings were carried out in order to advance a drug enterprise in Alaska. Together, the three helped to distribute over 33 kilograms of fentanyl, 11 kilograms of meth, four kilograms of heroin and 57 grams of cocaine. It’s not exactly clear how Powers and Clark posed a perceived threat to the trio.

The investigation was a joint effort between 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 and Anchorage Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Vandergaw and Christopher Schroeder are prosecuting the case.

Troopers picked up on the killings after Powers, 30, went missing. Because she made a 911 call shortly before her disappearance, troopers considered her disappearance suspicious and began searching for her along with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation. The search for Powers focused on the Parks Highway as that is where she was believed to be traveling.

On June 2, troopers located a vehicle belonging to Powers and the remains of both Powers and Clark, 34, in a nearby shallow grave.

“Due to the drug trafficking enterprise in which all three defendants were involved, we referred this investigation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for prosecution instead of the Alaska Department of Law to ensure that these defendants are held accountable for their actions. The Alaska State Troopers will continue to work tirelessly with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to dismantle drug trafficking organizations that target Alaskans,” troopers stated in a press release.