Three men suspected of stabbing and killing a yearling moose in an East Anchorage park appeared in court Wednesday to face charges of cruelty to animals, wanton waste of big game and tampering with evidence.
Johnathan Candelario, 25, James Galloway, 28, and Nick Johnston, 33, were arrested Tuesday after police arrived at Russian Jack Springs Park to find the moose dead. Two of the charges -- cruelty to animals and wanton waste of big game -- are felonies. The tampering with evidence charge is a class C misdemeanor.
Candelario and Galloway hid their faces with paper during the hearing at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. Johnston also approached the podium with papers hiding his face but put them down a few minutes later.
According to charging documents, at 7:19 p.m. Tuesday, Anchorage police responded to the park near Pine Street and Reka Drive, where multiple witnesses told police that three men were seen punching the moose.
One of the witnesses "yelled at the men to stop and leave the moose alone," according to charging documents.
After attacking the moose, the three suspects walked away, the witnesses said.
Police found the yearling bull moose "recently deceased in blood soaked grass with a large vertical laceration on the left side," charging documents say.
The moose had an apparent puncture wound to the neck and multiple cuts that "appeared to be slashing cuts" on its left ribcage.
The three men were found near the Russian Jack park chalet. Candelario had blood on the front of his jacket, and Galloway was wearing a cowboy hat, matching the description by one of the witnesses, who then identified all three men as those he saw attacking the moose, according to the charges.
APD spokesperson Anita Shell wrote that "it's unknown whether drugs or alcohol was a factor" in the incident.
A police dog and his handler also found three knives in a large concrete pipe nearby. Police believe they were used to kill the moose.
One was a hunting knife in a brown leather sheath that had blood on it, another a serrated dagger in a black leather sheath, and the last a multitool in a leather sheath.
A local charity collected the moose, according to Shell.
On Wednesday, all three of the suspects were assigned attorneys by Anchorage District Court Judge Alex Swiderski.
Johnston has a lengthy court record, including numerous assault and theft convictions. Candelario was found guilty of fourth-degree assault in 2013, unauthorized entry in 2012, and criminally negligent burning in 2009. Galloway has several traffic convictions on his record.
Bail conditions for Candelario and Johnston were each set at $10,000 cash-corporate bond, plus a $2,500 performance bond and a third-party custodian.
Galloway's bail was set at $5,000 cash-corporate plus a third-party custodian.
The maximum sentence for the charges of cruelty to animals and tampering with evidence is five years jail time and a $50,000 fine for each crime, Swiderski told the suspects. Wanton waste carries a maximum sentence of a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.
Pre-indictment hearings for the three men were scheduled for Thursday.