Crime & Courts

The federally protected animals were killed in mid-May, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is offering up to $5,000 for information.

Juan Wright’s body was found Wednesday by someone walking in the area.

An Anchorage jury on Thursday found Jordan Joplin guilty on charges of first- and second-degree murder in the death of Ketchikan Dr. Eric Garcia.

Lukis Nighswonger, now 40, was a popular teacher at Wasilla’s Iditarod Elementary when the accusations of classroom abuse surfaced in 2015. He wasn’t arrested for another three years.

Caleb Irwin died roughly two weeks after he was released from custody for hospice care.

It’s still not clear why Sharlene Townsend shot and killed 66-year-old Donald Jordan outside his home in 2020. She apologized to Jordan’s family during a Tuesday hearing in Anchorage Superior Court.

Police have not released the name of the victim of the early morning shooting.

Luimariamofoa Polu was 16 when he was arrested in the killing of 15-year-old Raynaldo Khotesouvan. Polu was tried as an adult under Alaska law.

The state’s largest public sector union was thrilled by the decision, but the Alaska Department of Law implied it would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Neeraj Bhatt told investigators he’d made false statements about how many times he entered a passenger’s cabin, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage.

After a lengthy investigation, authorities accused Brandon Reed and accomplice Andrew Tyone of selling vodka in water bottles for several years.

Aaron Hambright, a contracted employee, shot the man three times at a Holiday gas station, court documents say. Police said the wounded man was stabilized at the hospital after arriving in critical condition.

The police department and union have negotiated on disagreements over the policy for more than a year. There’s not a clear timeline for when the cameras might be implemented.

Michael Drost, accused of stabbing a man during a confrontation over a lost dog, was convicted of murder, manslaughter and criminal trespass Tuesday.

Harold Gregory pleaded guilty in June to second-degree murder in the 2019 beating death of Cheryl Sakar.

Ronald Beyering, 62, had been accused of setting fire to a home in the Funny River area and then shooting at the people who lived there.

Two prior police investigations based on reports of inappropriate behavior involving Nathaniel Erfurth did not result in charges, according to a criminal complaint filed Saturday.

Zachary Belcher is considered the victim in an ongoing criminal case but says he is being victimized again by a system that’s held his vehicle as evidence for more than a year.

One man was injured and is being treated for a non-life threatening gunshot wound to his lower body, police said.

The Anchorage Police Department launched a homicide investigation Thursday after officers found the 22-year-old dead outside on Mumford Street.

The Point Hope resident had opened fire on residents and buildings Wednesday before a North Slope Borough police officer shot him, troopers say.

The brutality of the 1985 killings — and Fletcher’s young age at the time, 14 — drew widespread attention in Anchorage. A judge waived Fletcher’s case into adult court.

Some neighbors were evacuated as firefighters worked with SWAT officers to keep the flames from spreading to other buildings, an Anchorage fire official said.