INFORMATION RELEASE

On December 21^st, 2023 at about 10:17 a.m., a search warrant was served by JPD officers and the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) task force at a residence located in the 500 block of N. Franklin Street. The search warrant was related to an ongoing investigation involving the distribution of controlled substances in Juneau.  One person was arrested and drugs with an estimated street value of $170,000 were seized.

At the onset of the warrant service, JPD deployed a distraction device and issued voice commands to come outside. At that time, two individuals exited the residence. The man who was the target of the investigation did not comply and remained inside the residence. At about 11:45 a.m., JPD began deploying chemical munitions into the residence. The male subject exited the residence at about 1:05 p.m.

65 year old Juneau resident Kenneth W. Kitka was taken into custody without further incident. A search of the residence and suspect’s vehicle resulted in the following items being seized:

• Over $100,000 in cash
• Three handguns
• 80.74 grams of a tar like substance that field tested positive for heroin
• 5.11 gross grams of a crystalline substance that field tested positive for methamphetamine
• 26.2 gross grams of a white powdery substance that tested positive for cocaine
• Approximately 4,000 blue pills imprinted M/30 that suspected of containing fentanyl

Kitka was evaluated at BRH then transported to and lodged at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center on the following charges:  Two counts of Misconduct Involving Controlled Substances 2^nd degree (heroin & fentanyl distribution), two counts of Misconduct Involving Controlled Substances 3rd degree (cocaine & methamphetamine), Misconduct Involving Controlled Substances 4^th degree (LSD), Misconduct Involving Weapons 2^nd degree, four counts of Misconduct involving Weapons  3^rd degree (felon in possession) and Violating Conditions of Release.

SEACAD is a regional task force comprised of municipal police departments from Juneau, Ketchikan, Sitka, Haines, Skagway, Petersburg, Hoonah, Wrangell, Craig and Yakutat, Alaska State Troopers, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and Coast Guard Investigative Service. Together, they work to investigate drug importation and distribution in the Southeast Alaska region.