A Soldotna man arrested earlier this year in a Kenai-area sweep of heroin and methamphetamine sellers now faces manslaughter charges in connection with the 2015 death of a man who Alaska State Troopers say used his products.
Troopers said the new charge against Richard Paul Morrison, 37, stemmed from a investigation initiated Dec. 30 into the death of Soldotna resident Jeremy Vandever.
"During the investigation, it was found Vandever died as a result of the ingestion of a controlled substance," troopers wrote. "AST identified a suspect who sold Vandever the controlled substance and initiated a separate investigation into the sale of controlled substance which resulted in (Morrison's January arrest)."
After further investigation, troopers picked Morrison up again in connection with the Vandever case at about 10:50 a.m. Thursday.
"Morrison was placed under arrest for manslaughter for distributing the controlled substance to Vandever, which directly resulted in Vandever's death," troopers wrote.
Morrison already faces nine counts of misconduct involving controlled substances and three of misconduct involving weapons, after a three-week investigation ended with troopers taking him and three other people into custody in January. Court records show that case is still open, with a trial date currently set for early August.
Morrison was taken to the Wildwood Pretrial Facility after the most recent charge, where he was held without bail.