Man charged with serious drug, sex crimes

PALMER — A 33-year-old man was arrested in Big Lake Monday, charged with indecent exposure, sexual abuse of a minor and a very serious drug crime.

According to court records, Jeffery R. Martin, 33, is charged with a seldom-charged crime — misconduct involving a controlled substance in the first degree. The charge is reserved for people who give hard drugs to children. It is an unclassified felony, carrying the same potential penalty as murder — 99 years in prison.

Alaska State Troopers Investigator Shannon Fore writes in an affidavit in the case against Martin that the events that led to the criminal charges took place Oct. 19 and were reported the evening of Oct. 21.

In an interview Monday at the Children’s Place in Wasilla, Fore writes that a 15-year-old girl told him she’d gone to a neighbor’s house where she snorted three lines of what she was told at first was Adderall. Earlier that evening she’d snorted Ritalin.

Martin eventually told her what she thought was Adderall was actually methamphetamine. He asked her to let him perform sex acts on her, she said “no,” but eventually gave in and Martin performed a sex act a few steps below intercourse by most reasonable definitions. Later, he groped her.

Martin’s girlfriend, Miranda Sheldon, allegedly participated in the sex act with him but not with the 15-year-old, Fore says in the affidavit. Fore interviewed Sheldon afterward.

“Miranda stated that Jeffery told (the girl) that (the drug) was something else so that (she) would snort it,” Fore wrote. “Miranda stated that she didn’t care if Jeffrey did sexual acts with (the girl) and told Jeffrey it was fine as long as it was fine with (the girl).”

Fore also talked to Martin, who admitted to the sex but was less forthcoming about the drugs.

Asked about whether he begged to perform sex acts on the girl, Martin told Fore that he and the teen often joke around about sex, but it’s always joking.

As for the drugs, “Jeffrey stated that even after he told (the girl) what it really was that she snorted, (the girl) did another ‘line’ of it,” Fore wrote.

Martin was hit with that MICS charge, but also with third-degree sexual abuse of a minor — which is also a felony but a much lower, class C felony — and first-degree indecent exposure.

His bail was set at $100,000, with an order that he find a third party to watch over him before he can be released.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.