Crime & Courts

Update May 17, 2012 2:02 pm

Five-thousand dollars cash bail was set for Jack Joseph Paine, Jr., the man accused of firing shots on Slate Drive early Thursday morning. Paine made his first appearance in Juneau District Court on Thursday afternoon. He was not required to enter a plea. His next court appearance is May 25th, unless a grand jury returns with an indictment before then.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Williams said one of the charges of misconduct involving weapons was upgraded to a felony because Paine allegedly used a firearm with an obscured or ground-down serial number.

Paine, who used a cane to enter and exit the courtroom while he was also in handcuffs, said he was on disability and had no income. An attorney from the Office of Public Advocacy was appointed to defend him because a witness in Thursday’s alleged shooting is already being representated by a public defender in another case.

May 17, 2012 12:27 pm

A Juneau man is under arrest after allegedly firing three shots in the valley and then leaving the scene.

Police Lieutenant David Campbell says they received multiple 911 calls at about 1:47 a.m. Thursday morning from the 4000 block of Slate Drive.

A blue pick-up and a gold station wagon left the scene. Campbell says the pick-up’s occupants were a 54-year old man and a 31-year old woman who were determined to be witnesses to the shooting.

Twenty minutes later, the station wagon was reportedly spotted travelling at 70-miles an hour on Egan Drive inbound near Channel Vista Drive. It was stopped by officers between Juneau-Douglas High School and the University of Alaska’s Marine Technology Center. The vehicle included a 26-year old man and a 27-year old woman, and — according to Campbell — the alleged shooter who was identified as 29-year old Jack Joseph Paine, Jr.

“From the investigation we did with both vehicles and residents in the area, it was determined that an argument took place over money,” said Campbell.

A nine-millimeter semi-automatic pistol allegedly used in the shooting was recovered.

No one was reported hurt during the incident.

Paine is being charged with three counts of misconduct involving weapons and interfering with a police officer.

The FBI is asking for help in locating the gun they believe was used in the shooting of two Coast Guardsmen last month in Kodiak.

Investigators want to speak with anyone who might have sold or traded a .44-caliber revolver in the last year, specifically a Smith and Wesson model 29; a Smith and Wesson model 629; or a .44-magnum Taurus model.

FBI Spokesperson Eric Gonzales says the agency is searching statewide for information that will lead them to the murder weapon.

Petty Officer 1st Class James Hopkins and retired Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Richard Belisle were killed April 12th at the Kodiak Coast Guard Communications Station.

The FBI has contacted gun dealers in Kodiak and questioned several people who had booths at a local gun show in March. Two weeks ago the Coast Guard Investigative Service recruited more than 120 members of the community to search for the weapon along Anton Larsen Bay Road and in an area in Bell’s Flats.

Officials have been tight-lipped about the investigation. A suspect has yet to be identified, but the FBI has assured Kodiak residents that they’re safe.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

The next court hearing is May 18th for the Juneau man who allegedly drove drunk and led officers in pursuit throughout most of the Mendenhall Valley on Tuesday morning.

Devin Moorhouse, 26, spent most of his first appearance in Juneau District Court on Wednesday afternoon trying to hide his face from photographers.

Moorhouse said he was unemployed and could not afford an attorney.

Bail was set at $15,000 dollars cash.

District Attorney Dave Brower proposed that amount partially on Moorhouse’s previous record from a burglary case. He also said Moorhouse “is lucky no one got killed.”

Moorhouse is being charged with felony assault and two counts of felony failure to stop for a police officer. He’s also being charged with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, criminal mischief, and driving without a license or while license is revoked.

He allegedly cut off a marked patrol car, ran three red lights, and crashed into another patrol car as he tried to evade officers. The chase allegedly started at Egan Drive’s McNugget intersection, went down Riverside Drive, and over Mendenhall Boulevard to Loop Road and Valley Boulevard. The truck was finally stopped when it ran into a tree at Aspen Avenue and Portage Boulevard.

Moorhouse and his 33-year old female passenger did not sustain any serious injuries.

A 26-year-old Juneau man was arrested Tuesday after a mid-morning police chase through the Mendenhall Valley that ended with the suspect crashing his truck into a tree.

Juneau Police say Devin Moorhouse was driving a Chevy pickup that cut off a marked patrol vehicle near the McNugget intersection shortly before 11 a.m. When the officer put on his lights to pull the truck over, Moorhouse allegedly took off and ran a red light at Egan Drive and Mendenhall Loop Road, then turned onto Riverside Drive and blew another red light at Mall Road.

Lieutenant David Campbell says the officer stopped giving chase after Moorhouse accelerated to a high rate of speed.

“The officers base whether they’re going to follow someone on their discretion and they take into consideration things like how heavy is the traffic, are there pedestrians in the area, things on that line,” Campbell says.

In this case, he says the officer decided it was too risky to purse Moorhouse with Thunder Mountain High School and Riverbend Elementary School nearby.

Another officer later spotted the truck run another red light crossing Mendenhall Loop Road, from Mendenhall Blvd onto Valley Blvd. Campbell says the vehicle again failed to stop for officers, hitting a patrol car in the process, which caused minor damage.

The truck then crossed back onto Mendenhall Blvd and turned onto Aspen Avenue, before hitting a tree at the corner of Aspen and Portage Blvd. Campbell says Moorhouse was drunk and complaining of pain from the accident. He was booked at Lemon Creek Correctional Center after being evaluated at Bartlett Regional Hospital.

A 33-year-old female passenger in Moorhouse’s truck was evaluated by EMTs at the scene. Campbell says neither Moorhouse nor his passenger appeared seriously hurt.

Moorhouse was charged with with driving while intoxicated, two counts of failure to stop at the direction of a police officer, 3rd degree assault, 4th degree criminal mischief, and driving while license revoked.

The investigation into the incident continues and Campbell says more charges may be forthcoming.

Former state Division of Wildlife Conservation Director Corey Rossi has pleaded guilty to illegal hunting practices, according to a release from Alaska State Troopers.

In an Anchorage court room today (Friday), Rossi admitted to a consolidated count of falsifying a bear sealing certificate and one count of unlawful acts by a big game guide. The plea was part of a deal the former state official made with prosecutors. It also calls for three years informal probation, a one-year suspension of his Big Game License, a one-year revocation of all hunting privileges, and a $5,000 fine.

Rossi resigned from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in January when the charges became public.

A Juneau man is back in custody and facing more charges after trying to run away from the courthouse and officers on Wednesday afternoon.

Talon Lobaugh, 23, was in handcuffs and wearing a standard orange inmate’s jumpsuit when he escaped custody at the Dimond Courthouse. Judicial Services officers pursued him. His break at freedom barely lasted a little over fifteen minutes and he apparently didn’t get very far. Four Juneau Police officers joined in the search and helped apprehend Lobaugh on a Main Street hillside near the State Office Building.

Lobaugh was earlier arrested Tuesday night after an off-duty state trooper spotted him walking on Mount Roberts Street. Lobaugh allegedly fled on foot when uniformed police officers arrived. That chase only lasted nine minutes, according to officers. He was initially picked up on an outstanding warrant for failing to comply with conditions of probation stemming from six counts of forgery and two counts of theft.

Lobaugh has another charge of resisting arrest from the Tuesday evening chase. No word yet on specific charges from Wednesday afternoon’s chase.