Crime & Courts
Alaska state trooper shoots woman near Wasilla
Troopers said the woman took aim at an officer with a weapon that turned out to be a BB gun but “closely resembled a semiautomatic handgun.”
Homer woman gets almost 70 years in prison for killing man who picked her up from jail
Sarah Dayan was convicted of murder and numerous other charges in the death of 57-year-old Soldotna resident Keith Huss.
Police have opened homicide investigation into deaths at U-Med apartment
The Anchorage Police Department on Tuesday released the ages of the three adults found dead last month.
Arrest made in 2021 killing of 18-year-old found at East Anchorage baseball fields
An Anchorage grand jury indicted a 24-year-old man on murder charges last week.
Wasilla man accused of abandoning 16-year-old girl on trail last year during fatal OD
The 45-year-old was arrested Wednesday and charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and a felony drug charge.
‘We do not have many details’: Family identifies 17-year-old found dead in car in Anchorage
The discovery of the teen’s body Sunday came four days after officers found three adults dead in the U-Med area. The police department is releasing little information in either case.
Anchorage police investigating death of juvenile found in car
The body was found near East 13th Avenue and Karluk Street early Sunday morning, police said.
Judge rejects initial plea deal in fatal Glenn Highway hit-and-run, approves longer sentence
Family members of Chase Bowerson, killed in 2021, crowded an Anchorage courtroom to oppose the deal.
Fatal hit-and-run on Glenn Highway subject of proposed plea deal that includes 18-month sentence
The family of Chase Bowerson, killed by a friend in 2021, hopes a judge will reject the agreement.
State’s seizure of a bootlegger’s plane was legal, Alaska Supreme Court says
The court said in a decision that “even a six-pack of beer causes grave societal harm.”
Hit-and-run pickup driver destroys front of downtown Anchorage dumpling eatery
The truck’s driver fled the area of Anchorage Pel’meni early Sunday morning, police said.
Man arrested after fight leads to fatal shooting in South Anchorage, police say
A 24-year-old man was charged with murder Thursday in the Wednesday afternoon shooting on East 66th Avenue.
Law enforcement officers who fatally shot man in Kasilof standoff won’t face criminal charges
The 32-year-old man injured an Alaska State Trooper during the confrontation in January on his property.
Deadlocked jury leads to mistrial on homicide charges in Unalaska cliff crash that killed 2 teens
State prosecutors have not decided if they will move to retry Dustin Ruckman, who was 18 when he drove a pickup off Mount Ballyhoo in 2019.
Fort Wainwright soldier arrested on murder charges in Fairbanks man’s death
The 24-year-old soldier was wearing an ankle monitor linked to criminal charges filed in the last month.
31-year-old woman dies following Anchorage shooting that police say was ‘isolated incident’
The Anchorage Police Department identified the woman who died in Thursday’s shooting as Haily Ibarra.
Anchorage legislator proposes expanding Alaska’s parole board size, representation and transparency
Senate Bill 62 would expand the parole board from five to seven members, and require including those with experience in health care, victim advocacy and addiction recovery.
Anchorage police and FBI investigating Eagle River neighborhood of man last seen in March
Authorities on Wednesday afternoon could be seen working at a home owned by an Anchorage police officer, records show.
‘Change comes from outrage’: Experts say APD policy of not naming certain homicide victims has no basis in law
Anchorage police stopped identifying juvenile or domestic violence victims of homicide in 2020. Last year, they named just half the people killed by others.
Palmer pilot and self-described ‘free citizen’ sentenced to probation and $10K fine after 2023 near miss
The pilot, who was convicted of operating an aircraft without a federal certification and operating an unregistered aircraft, insists he is not subject to government regulations.
Alaska Supreme Court rules state must notify foster youths before taking Social Security payments
The decision stems from a class-action lawsuit filed over 10 years ago against the Office of Children’s Services.
Sutton man charged with murder in father’s death
Grant Wells, 21, also faces arson and other charges in connection with the Sutton-area incident.
Anchorage motivational speaker sentenced to 25 years in prison for charges related to sex abuse of minor
Donteh Devoe had an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old girl in his care, charging documents say.
Long-delayed trial begins in Anchorage for driver in Unalaska crash that killed 2 teens
Dustin Ruckman, now 24, is charged with two counts of criminally negligent homicide in the 2019 crash.
Anchorage airman charged with posing as teen on Roblox to coerce 9-year-old into sharing explicit images
The 31-year-old airman was charged with coercing a 9-year-old girl to share sexually explicit images of herself, after he posed as a 13-year-old on the gaming site Roblox.
Final member of Fairbanks Four settles for $11.5 million in wrongful conviction lawsuit against city
The four men spent nearly 20 years in prison before murder charges filed against them in connection to a teen’s 1997 death were overturned.
Alaska Supreme Court places new limits on pretrial delays
The move follows an investigation by ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News that found some cases have taken as long as a decade to reach juries, potentially violating the rights of victims and defendants alike.
Western Alaska man charged with murder in girlfriend’s killing
The arrest came nearly three months after the 27-year-old woman was found dead in Napakiak.
Wasilla police officer kills man who fired on him, troopers say
Witnesses in the Settlers Bay area described hearing several rounds of shots. No one else was injured, Alaska State Troopers said.
‘Other people’s beloveds’: The decisions and delays that preceded a fatal beating at Anchorage’s jail
The two men, who’d each been diagnosed with schizophrenia in their 20s and ended up in Alaska’s correctional system, should never have been held in a cell together, relatives say.