Crime & Justice

Homebrew-fueled assault prompts standoff with troopers in Alaska village of Alakanuk

Drunk on homebrew, an Alakanuk man is accused of assaulting his girlfriend and starting a standoff last weekend by pointing a military-style assault rifle at an Alaska State Trooper in the village near the mouth of the Yukon River.

Francis V. Damian Jr., 43, allegedly beat his girlfriend Sept. 7 because he thought she'd stolen his homebrew, then pointed an AR-15 at trooper William Connors, who came to investigate following the domestic violence report, according to the affidavit Connors filed in court. Damian fired one shot in the ensuing standoff, but there were no injuries and he surrendered the next morning.

A Bethel grand jury indicted Damian on Thursday on charges of assault and weapons misconduct, and he remained jailed Friday, according to court records. Troopers posted a dispatch on the case Friday afternoon.

Girlfriend badly beaten

According to Trooper Connors' affidavit, this is what happened:

An Alakanuk village police officer called the Emmonak troopers just after 5 p.m. to say that Damian's girlfriend of five years was badly beaten. The woman had bruises and blood on her face, bruises on her neck and arms and a swollen left eye, Connors wrote.

The trooper flew to the village, arriving about 6 p.m., and met with village police officers. They went to Damian's gray house at Eighth Avenue and River Street, and Connors knocked on the door. There was no answer, and Connors worried that a 10-year-old might be in the house, he wrote.

Connors approached the kitchen window and could see Damian sitting in the living room holding the AR-15.

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"Francis Damian then raised the rifle and pointed the barrel directly at me," Connors wrote. "I shouted 'GUN' and all law enforcement personnel sought cover. I flattened myself on the ground and then crawled to the corner of the residence away from any windows."

Five minutes later, Connors heard what sounded like a gunshot. The trooper gathered the officers and had them set up roadblocks around the house and evacuate nearby houses.

Connors got a phone number for Damian and convinced the Alakanuk man to let him approach the house, which smelled like homebrew, the trooper wrote. Francis was slurring his speech and swaying while standing while they talked for about 30 minutes. He did not have a gun while talking to the trooper.

"Even though the fear existed inside of me not wanting to get shot or killed I had to do my job to try and see any children or other adults were inside the residence unharmed," Connors wrote.

Damian unlocked the deadbolt, Connors came inside, and Damian ran to the living room with the trooper chasing. He found Damian in the living room sitting down again, holding the assault rifle, its 30-round magazine and a 12-gauge shotgun.

Avoiding a confontation

"As I moved closer inside, Francis would reach for the assault rifle. I then would back up and he would let go," Connors wrote. "This happened twice and I made the determination to exit the residence as not to force any confrontation."

Damian continued to talk on the phone until 11 p.m., "at which time we decided to let things be and give him time to think," Connors wrote. At about 8 the next morning, Damian picked up the phone again and soon was walking out of the house unarmed. Connors arrested Damian and took him to Bethel.

Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said the child Connors thought might be in the home had actually been at another family member's house. At one point, Damian had threatened to commit suicide, Peters said. Peters said in an email that troopers feared the man would attempt to do something to get them to respond with force.

Other than Damian's battered girlfriend, there were no injuries in the incident, troopers said.

Contact Casey Grove at casey@alaskadispatch.com and find him on Twitter at twitter.com/kcgrove.

Casey Grove

Casey Grove is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He left the ADN in 2014.

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