Crime & Courts

Troopers: Man threatened to burn homes in Kenai Peninsula village

A Voznesenka man faces charges of terroristic threatening after allegedly going door-to-door in the Kenai Peninsula village announcing plans to burn homes and kill their occupants.

Joseph Kuzmin, 40, is also charged with first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch.

Troopers were first informed of the disturbance in Voznesenka, roughly 25 miles east of Homer, at about 7:15 p.m. Monday after Kuzmin reportedly "threatened to kill an underage family member and burn down his house."

"While troopers were attempting to locate Kuzmin, AST dispatch received a second complaint in the area," troopers wrote. "Investigation into that incident revealed Kuzmin entered a house uninvited and threatened to kill the occupants and burn down that house as well."

In 2014, Kuzmin made headlines when the Homer News reported his arrest by troopers for allegedly crashing a wedding party and making death threats in Kachemak Selo, until guests tied him up and left him at his home.

Kuzmin was taken into custody without incident by responding troopers. He was taken to the Homer jail and held without bail.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Voznesenka as 25 miles west of Homer. It is 25 miles east.

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