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Dillingham heroin case dismissed by prosecutor

KDLG: Assistant district attorney Pamela Dale dismissed a drug trafficking charge against Chelsea Sam, 23, of Dillingham.

"There were evidentiary issues I didn't believe could be overcome," Dale said Monday.

Sam was accused of selling of selling a dose of black tar heroin to a Dillingham Police confidential informant just before Christmas last year. She could have been sentenced to between five and eight years in jail if convicted of the class A felony.

Other similar cases have been dismissed by the prosecution this year.

Dale, who is based in Anchorage, wouldn't say if there is a disconnect between the police investigations and the case that prosecutors can prove beyond a reasonable doubt. Dillingham police often use confidential informants to make controlled heroin buys, which has led to numerous arrests over the past two years.

Reach the author at dave@kdlg.org or 907.842.5281.