Double-murder trial highlights drug trade in Alaska capital

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An ongoing double-murder trial has shed light on drug sales in Alaska’s capital city.

The Juneau Empire reported Sunday that 42-year-old Laron Carlton Graham went on trial last week for two counts of first-degree murder.

Graham is charged with the November 2015 shooting deaths of Robert Meireis and Elizabeth Tonsmeire in Tonsmeire’s apartment near Juneau.

Prosecutors say the murders were a result of the sale of a bad batch of heroin by Meireis to Graham.

Authorities say Meireis refused to refund Graham and called him a racial slur, prompting Graham to shoot Meireis and then Tonsmeire.

The defense says there is no forensic evidence or a weapon to link Graham to the crimes.

Trial witnesses have supported police testimony that there are numerous people involved in Juneau’s drug trade.

Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com