Fairbanks man with ties to Alaska’s biggest drug ring sentenced to 22 years

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A Fairbanks man who prosecutors say is tied to the largest organized drug trafficking ring in Alaska history was sentenced to 22 years in federal court on Tuesday for his involvement in a North Pole man’s fatal fentanyl overdose.

Edward Ervin Ginnis, 39, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances resulting in death.

Ginnis had previously pleaded guilty in April to the charge of distributing fentanyl, which led to the death of 32-year-old Adam Sakkinen, prosecutors said.

According to court documents, in the summer of 2022, Ginnis distributed fentanyl to Samantha Lynn Pearson, 38, who then sold the drugs to Sakkinen, leading to his fatal overdose in July of that year.

“There’s just a lot that we lost, and even the last three years, my brother was very close with my sister and I and my parents, and he had four nieces and nephews that he was a big part of their lives and they’re growing up without him,” said Sakkinen’s sister, Freya Janssen. “I think about that a lot, that instead of being with the kids and him today, being here in court in front of a judge is not fair.”

In addition to Sakkinen’s sister, his mother Laurie Sakkinen and father Donald Sakkinen were also present in court on Tuesday.

All three provided victim impact statements in the case.

In January 2024, a federal grand jury included Ginnis and Pearson in a larger indictment charging more than 50 people with having various involvements to distributing illegal drugs throughout Alaska.

When Ginnis was given a chance to speak Tuesday, he told the case’s judge there were many things he regretted from his past behaviors. He apologized to the Sakkinen family and said he took full responsibility for his actions. Members of Ginnis’ family were also present in court during his sentencing.

Ginnis, according to court documents, was in direct contact with 58-year-old Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, the man prosecutors say is responsible for running a transnational crime and drug trafficking ring that targeted Alaska while he was serving a life sentence at a California state prison.

Sanchez-Rodriguez, prosecutors say, conducted business by communicating via contraband cell phones with suppliers in Mexico, leaders in California and Oregon, and drug traffickers in Alaska to distribute illegal drugs.

Federal prosecutors say Sanchez-Rodriguez also communicated with disbarred Anchorage attorney Justin Facey, who was indicted on federal charges in May for what prosecutors say was his involvement in the drug ring.

Court documents say on June 7, 2022, Ginnis sent an overnight package containing money via FedEx to one of Sanchez-Rodriguez’s coconspirators in California, paying in advance for a shipment of drugs.

On June 11, 2022, prosecutors say Sanchez-Rodriguez spoke with Ginnis through one of the contraband telephones in his prison cell. That same day, they allege Ginnis sent texts to several different distributors, including Pearson, asking if they had potential buyers lined up.

The prosecution argued that, based on a text conversation captured by authorities between Ginnis and Pearson, it was clear he was aware of the life-threatening risks involved.

On June 15, 2022, in a text message to Ginnis, prosecutors say Pearson says she should give some of the drugs back to him because she’s not too sure what it was.

Ginnis responded by saying it was “China White” — slang for pure heroin — which at the time was known to be commonly mixed with fentanyl, according to prosecutors.

In response to Pearson’s hesitation, prosecutors say Ginnis wrote back, “As long as we getting paid.”

Federal prosecutors said based on his awareness of the dangerous risk along with his extensive prior criminal record, they were seeking beyond the 20-year mandatory minimum and pushed for the additional two years with a five-year supervised release.

Pearson’s case is still pending.

Texts between Pearson and Sakkinen were outlined in court documents, as well, showing the sale was made on June 25, 2022. At 12:58 p.m. that same day, North Police Fire and EMS responded to a single car crash on Haydon Court in Badger.

Sakkinen, prosecutors say, was found unconscious behind the wheel of his car with the drug paraphernalia nearby that later tested positive for fentanyl. EMS administered six doses of Narcan at which point Sakkinen regained a pulse and was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, then to Providence Hospital in Anchorage.

After 11 days in the intensive care unit, Sakkinen’s family decided to take him off life support.

As for the Sakkinen family, they said that while they feel better seeing someone being held accountable, they’re far from getting closure, as no sentencing will ever bring back what they’ve lost.

“[Adam] got along with everybody,” Donald Sakkinen said. “He told me, ‘You’re the best dad ever,’ and, ‘You’re my best friend, my friends wish they had you for Dad.’

“I don’t think most kids or most young men tell their father that. He was just a caring young man, and I loved him.”

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