Crime & Courts

An Anchorage woman has been charged with neglecting more than 70 dogs, in a case that strained local animal-care resources and prompted a massive outpouring of community support to adopt the animals.

Court records show Monika Marshall, 47, charged with 73 misdemeanor counts of animal neglect. Anchorage police described the situation on Facebook as “one of the most severe neglect cases we’ve encountered.” It involved a total of 71 dogs and two birds.

Marshall could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

But a charging document against her lays out what authorities say happened. According to the charges, police and Anchorage Animal Care and Control officers visited her Abbott Loop home on May 22 in response to a report of animal neglect. They reported a “strong smell of urine emanating from the house.”

“Upon entering the residence the smell of urine and feces greatly intensified, and officers observed urine and feces present on every wall, and were forced to return to the residence with gas masks due to the overwhelming odor,” prosecutors said in the charges.

Inside, officers reported finding “a large number of dogs roaming freely,” which made moving through the home’s first floor difficult due to their sheer numbers.

“Officers observed even more surging out of cramped and unsanitary spaces,” prosecutors said.

All 73 dogs and birds were removed from the home, according to the charges, and Marshall was briefly arrested.

Animal Care and Control described it as a “hoarding case” on Facebook. A day after the dogs were seized, police posted a plea for help online.

“The animals were found in unimaginable conditions,” police said. “While neglect charges are pending, the immediate crisis is this: AACC is now operating at nearly three times its standard capacity. They need our help, and they need it now.”

Residents responded to that request for aid, the shelter said on Facebook, adopting more than two dozen dogs on May 24 alone.

By Thursday, a week after the seizure, less than half of the original 71 dogs remained at the shelter. Animal Care and Control said staff did not have to euthanize any of the animals thanks to an “amazing effort by everyone in our Alaskan community.”

“In just 7 days we have had 70 dogs adopted, 11 dogs go out to foster care, 5 dogs transferred to other shelters from around the state, and 2 birds picked up by a rescue,” shelter staff said. “On top of this the amount of donations that have been coming in is simply incredible; we have bags of pet food stacked as high as possible, bins filled with new toys, and enough treats to spoil every animal in our care.”

Animal Care and Control’s shelter manager, Melissa Summerfield, said by email on Tuesday that just 29 of the seized dogs remained at the shelter, in good condition.

“These dogs are doing well,” Summerfield said. “They are not socialized, and some are taking a little bit longer to warm up to the new environment and new people. There may be a few that need to be placed in foster care for a few weeks to be socialized prior to adoption but we are hopeful that all 71 dogs will be able to be placed successfully.”

The rapid pace of adoptions played a key role in clearing the shelter to work with the new animals, according to Summerfield.

“Just 3 days after the seizure we were back down to a normal operating level thanks to the 60 dogs adopted in just one weekend!” Summerfield said. “We have received over 100 applications for volunteers, fosters, and our Tails on Trails program so we are asking the public to be patient as we process these.”

Court records show that Marshall was released from jail on May 23 with her next court appearance scheduled for July 23.

NEW YORK — The New York Times did not libel former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in a 2017 editorial that contained an error she claimed had damaged her reputation, a jury concluded Tuesday.

The jury deliberated a little over two hours before reaching its verdict. A judge and a different jury had reached the same conclusion about Palin’s defamation claims in 2022, but her lawsuit was revived by an appeals court.

Palin was subdued as she left the courthouse and made her way to a waiting car, telling reporters: “I get to go home to a beautiful family of five kids and grandkids and a beautiful property and get on with life. And that’s nice.”

Later, she posted on the social platform X that she planned to “keep asking the press to quit making things up.”

Danielle Rhoades Ha, a Times spokesperson, said in a statement that the verdict “reaffirms an important tenet of American law: publishers are not liable for honest mistakes.”

Palin, who earned a journalism degree in college, sued the Times for unspecified damages in 2017, about a decade after she burst onto the national stage as the Republican vice-presidential nominee.

Her lawsuit stemmed from an editorial about gun control published after U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, was wounded in 2017 when a man with a history of anti-GOP activity opened fire on a Congressional baseball team practice in Washington.

In the editorial, the Times wrote that before the 2011 mass shooting in Arizona that severely wounded former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others, Palin’s political action committee had contributed to an atmosphere of violence by circulating a map of electoral districts that put Giffords and 19 other Democrats under stylized crosshairs.

The Times corrected the article less than 14 hours after it was published, saying it had “incorrectly stated that a link existed between political rhetoric and the 2011 shooting” and that it had “incorrectly described” the map.

During the trial, former Times editorial page editor James Bennet tearfully apologized to Palin, saying he was tormented by the error and worked urgently to correct it after readers complained to the newspaper.

Palin testified Monday that death threats against her increased and her spirits fell after the editorial was published.

In his closing argument Tuesday, Palin’s attorney, Kenneth Turkel, had urged the jury to find the Times liable for defamation on the grounds that Bennet either knew what he was publishing was wrong or acted with “reckless disregard” for the truth.

He asked the jury to award Palin compensatory damages for the harm done to her reputation and private mental anguish, adding that they should “find a number and let her get some closure to this thing.”

“To this day, there been no accountability,” he said. “That’s why we’re here.”

He told jurors not to be deceived by Palin’s “bouncy” persona on the witness stand.

“She doesn’t cry a lot,” Turkel said. “It may have been to them an honest mistake. For her, it was a life changer.”

Felicia Ellsworth, an attorney for the Times, told jurors in her closing that there was not “one shred of evidence showing anything other than an honest mistake.”

Ellsworth said Bennet and the Times “corrected the record loudly, clearly and quickly” once the error was discovered.

The lawyer pointed out that several Times editors testified consistently about the effort to correct the error and the importance they placed on accuracy while Palin’s claims were “supported by nothing other than her say so.”

“To Gov. Palin, this is just another opportunity to take on fake news. To James Bennet, the truth matters,” Ellsworth said.

In February 2022, Judge Jed S. Rakoff rejected Palin’s claims in a ruling issued while a jury deliberated. The judge then let jurors deliver their verdict, which also went against Palin.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan restored the case last year.

The appeals court said Rakoff’s dismissal ruling improperly intruded on the jury’s work. It also cited flaws in the trial, saying there was erroneous exclusion of evidence, an inaccurate jury instruction and a mistaken response to a question from the jury.

Turkel said as he left the courthouse that the legal team will evaluate whether to appeal again.

Lyrissa Lidsky, a University of Florida constitutional law professor, told The Associated Press that the verdict Tuesday “was certainly not a sure thing” amid widespread distrust of news media.

And, Lidsky added, Palin put the newspaper’s mistake in the public eye.

“Even if Sarah Palin didn’t win a jury verdict, she did, by bringing suit, achieve some likely goals,” Lidsky said.

The trial for a former Juneau chiropractor accused of assaulting more than a dozen patients has once again been delayed. It was scheduled to start this week, but was pushed back at a pre-trial conference because a member of the defense team is having severe health issues. The court plans to hear the case later this year. 

Police arrested Jeffrey Fultz four years ago on three charges of sexual assault. More women have come forward since. A total of 14 women, a majority of whom are Alaska Native, have now accused Fultz of assault.

The charges are based on accusations that he assaulted patients who sought chiropractic care while he worked for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. 

Some of the charges date back more than a decade. 

The case has seen years of delays in the pre-trial process. Now the court is attempting to set a trial date for the third time. The delays have left the alleged victims in limbo, waiting for justice.

At a pre-trial conference last week, Fultz’s defense attorney, Anchorage-based James Christie, reported that his co-counsel, Wally Tetlow, is experiencing life-threatening health problems and has been advised not to travel for at least one month. Christie argued that Tetlow’s in-person participation is vital.

“So I think, I think we’re in a position where there’s, there’s really, unfortunately, we have to identify a new window for a trial date,” Christie said.

State Prosecutor Jessalyn Gillum told the judge that her team opposes the delay. 

“Given the age of the case, the number of victims, and the fact that the victims have been very clear on wanting their day in court, the state is in no other – has no other choice but to oppose this request,” she said.

Gillum acknowledged Tetlow’s health concerns, but pointed to the fact that Tetlow is not the attorney named in the case for Fultz’s defense — Christie is. She argued that his inability to participate in person shouldn’t derail the trial schedule. 

This is not the first time that the health of the defense has delayed the trial. Fultz’s previous attorney had health problems that caused delays for the majority of a year.

Several other factors have also contributed to the long wait for a trail. The investigating Juneau police officer died, then the first judge assigned to the case retired, and later Fultz’s first attorney was deemed “mentally unable” to continue with the case. 

Victims have repeatedly said in hearings that each time they have to call in to advocate for the case to go to trial, it’s traumatizing.

Fultz has been out on bail, living in Colorado with some pre-trial monitoring since 2021. He appeared in court in person once last year. 

Judge Larry Woolford, who is presiding over the case, said he was reluctant to reschedule, after the dozens of witnesses had set aside time for what is expected to be a long and complex trial. 

“I mean, certainly the parties are aware that it has been the court’s intention that this matter would be ready to go on April 21,” he said. “And we have been, I think it’s fair to say, marching steadily, if imperfectly, toward that for some time now.”

But he said Tetlow’s emergency health issues are within the bounds of what constitutes an appropriate reason for further delays. 

“This is obviously not something anybody could have predicted nor prevented,” Woolford said. 

Woolford cited recent orders from the Alaska Supreme Court to limit delays in older court cases, and said this situation abides by those new rules as well. Under that order, the defense and prosecution can request delays for up to 90 days each, and a court can consider delays for up to 90 days for “good cause.” 

Multiple witnesses who called into a hearing last week said this delay will impact the prosecution.

“I just want to remind the court that there are 14 victims that have cleared the next five weeks to make this happen,” one alleged victim said. Victims who called in did not identify themselves by name. 

Another cited the disruptions this is causing her own life. 

“I’m a therapist, and have to cancel my clients,” she said. “And it, you know, that’s a big deal too.”

Woolford said in the hearing the court is willing to extend the case into the summer, and no further. 

“The windows that I’ve outlined strike me as a reasonable compromise between the unfortunate situation in which your team finds itself, and the, I think, compelling need to get this matter to trial,” he said.

But both the prosecution and defense expressed that their teams and witnesses may not be available for much of the summer. 

A hearing to determine a future trial schedule is set for April 28. 

Two Alaska State Troopers facing assault charges over alleged conduct during their arrest of the wrong man in Kenai last year won’t go to trial until next February, after a judge pushed the trial date back Wednesday.

Former trooper Sgt. Joseph Miller Jr., 50, and Jason Woodruff, 43, each face a felony assault charge in Kenai Superior Court. The state charged the officers last summer after body-worn camera footage appeared to show them beating and Tasing as well as siccing a police dog on Benjamin Tikka near Kenai’s Daubenspeck Park last spring. Troopers later said they’d been attempting to arrest Tikka’s cousin, who shares the same last name, for failing to appear for a 10-day jail sentence.

Miller and Woodruff were initially charged with, and pleaded not guilty to, a misdemeanor assault. Then a Kenai grand jury upped those charges to felony assault, to which they also pleaded not guilty.

The troopers’ trial was originally scheduled for this June. But on Thursday, their lawyers asked for more time. Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews scheduled a pretrial check-in hearing for later this year, and a new tentative trial date of February 2026.

If the case goes to trial next February, it will be almost two years after the assault is alleged to have occurred.

“As you’re all aware, there’s certainly emphasis on trying to get all cases to trial,” Matthews said. “This one is not certainly the oldest one in the court system, but I’m sensitive to the right of the victim, to the desire to get these cases moving forward.”

Thursday’s hearing comes amid a statewide backlog of trial cases and lengthy pretrial delays. An investigation published earlier this year by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found some cases delayed as long as a decade.

Shortly after, the Alaska Supreme Court put new limits on how long a criminal case can be postponed. The order takes effect May 12 and limits delays to 270 days for cases filed in or after 2022.

Darryl Thompson, who’s representing Tikka in the case, said during the hearing he’s not surprised the delay was requested.

“Well, we’ve been sad for the victim that he has to be out there even longer to get their day in court, to be heard and to have that justice be met,” Thompson said. “But as a defense attorney, I do understand that lots of things can happen.”

Clint Campion, Woodruff’s attorney, said in response to Thompson that he and his client spent three full days reviewing case material.

“This is not a matter where we haven’t been diligently working through discovery, but there’s a lot of material to discover,” Campion said. “It’s a relatively novel case for the state.”

Matthews says he hopes to set a firm trial date at the August hearing. Matthews is based in Anchorage. He was assigned the case after all of Kenai’s three superior court judges recused themselves from the case.

A trooper spokesperson said Wednesday via email that Miller is no longer employed by the state of Alaska. Woodruff is still employed by the state, but was taken out of service when the department learned about the Tikka arrest. The police dog deployed in the arrest is no longer with the department.

Miller and Woodruff’s lawyers each said Thursday they’re preparing motions to dismiss their clients’ respective indictments.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers are accusing four members of Kodiak’s Fields family as well as their fishing business, Fields & Sons Inc., of allegedly generating $1.17 million in illegal revenue between 2020 and 2024.

That’s according to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers on Tuesday, April 8.

Duncan Fields, 69; Wallace Fields, 64; Beth Fields, 66 and Leslie Fields, 67 – all of Kodiak – are charged with perjury and lying on fish tickets. Duncan and Wallace Fields are also both charged with multiple counts related to fraud, theft, and other fishery violations.

Duncan Fields serves on multiple boards, including the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and the Kodiak Island Borough School District’s Board of Education.

Duncan Fields said in a text message that the family and crew have been gifting permits to each other for 30 years. He said it “is a common practice in the industry,” and added that he thinks his family has “been singled out to try to set an example.”

Fields said that the charges aren’t supported by the facts.

The charges, however, come after a year-long investigation by Wildlife Troopers, according to the dispatch, after they received a tip in March of 2024 about suspicious fishing permit activity. During the investigation, troopers claim to have found the family was falsely gifting salmon setnet permits to crewmembers and later reclaiming them.

Troopers interviewed 21 crewmembers, according to the dispatch, and say there was a coordinated scheme involving family members lying under penalty of perjury as well as defrauding the state and fish buyers.

After nearly four years, the sexual assault case against a former Juneau chiropractor is slated to go to trial April 21. 

Jeffrey Fultz is accused of assaulting more than a dozen women under the guise of medical care. Police arrested Fultz in 2021 based on initial accusations that he had assaulted three patients while he was a chiropractor for Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. 

More women have come forward since, and he now faces 18 felony sexual assault charges and one misdemeanor harassment charge. Some of the alleged crimes date back more than a decade.

According to Assistant District Attorney Jessalyn Gillum, several factors have delayed the trial over the years, including the case’s complexity, the number of witnesses and a backlog of criminal cases in Juneau leftover from the  pandemic, when in-person trials were put on hold. 

In the time the case has been awaiting trial, the first judge assigned to the case retired, the investigating Juneau police officer died and Fultz’s first attorney was deemed “mentally unable” to continue with the case. 

Fultz hired his current attorney, James Christie, in January of last year.

The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reported early this year that felony cases in Alaska often face years of delays requested by defense attorneys and approved by judges.

Fultz’s case was finally scheduled to begin trial in February, but was delayed yet again as the court continues to process and release outstanding records.

Due to new limitations established by the Alaska Supreme Court, cases filed before 2023 will have a limit of 270 days before they must go to trial starting in May. 

The order says the defense and prosecution are each allotted 90 days of delay requests, and a further 90 days is included for “other periods of delay for good cause.” If Fultz’s case is delayed further, it would be subject to that ruling. 

Fultz has been living in Colorado since he posted bail three years ago. He has made one in-person appearance in Juneau court since.

In early 2021, the Indian Health Services established a hotline for callers to report suspected sexual abuse by calling 1-855-SAFE-IHS (855-723-3447) or submitting a complaint online on the IHS.gov website. The hotline may be used to report any type of suspected child abuse within the IHS, or any type of sexual abuse regardless of the age of the victim. The person reporting by phone or online may remain anonymous.

Locally, people can call AWARE in Juneau at (907) 586-1090.