Crime & Courts

A jury has been seated in the trial of a man accused of stealing a vehicle and crashing it into a local brewery.

Michael Rae, 54, is charged with vehicle theft, theft, burglary, and criminal mischief in connection with incident last April at Alaskan Brewing Company in Lemon Creek.

Before the jury pool was brought into the courtroom, Rae interjected and said he wanted a stay of proceedings, a response to his own hand-written motions, and fire his appointed attorney so that he could represent himself.

Forty-seven potential jurors were questioned on Tuesday as part of voir dire, or putting them on the spot about their background and knowledge of the case. At times, proceedings seemed part stand-up comedy routine and part inquisition. Attorneys used self-deprecating humor to elicit responses on how each potential juror would consider a witness with a grudge, incomplete or irrelevant evidence, rendering a decision that’s beyond any reasonable doubt, or working with jurors with opposing viewpoints.

The jury includes four men and ten women. Two members of the jury will be selected at-random as alternates and excused just before deliberations start.

Court officers and clerks say this is the first trial conducted by Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez, the former prosecutor and long-time defense attorney who was named to the bench last year.

The trial is expected to last anywhere from three to five days.

The Parnell Administration is not commenting on yesterday’s resignation of Corey Rossi, head of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Wildlife Conservation Division. A divisive figure, who advocates for controversial predator control practices, Rossi was charged Thursday with 12 misdemeanor counts related to an illegal bear hunt in 2008. Casey Kelly reports.

The alleged illegal hunt occurred in June 2008 on the north side of Cook Inlet. Alaska Wildlife Troopers say Corey Rossi aided two non-residents in killing three black bears, and took one black bear himself.

Troopers say Rossi then lied on state hunting documents by claiming that he killed all four bears.

According to the charging document, wildlife troopers received a tip in November 2010 from an out-of-state law enforcement agency about the illegal hunt. Troopers asked the agency to investigate, before launching their own probe, which included questioning Rossi last month.

Rossi allegedly admitted to troopers that he had all four bears sealed in his name at an Anchorage taxidermist two days after the hunt – providing false information on the sealing certificates.

He’s accused of a permit hunt report violation, multiple counts of making false statements and unsworn falsification, and one count of unlawful possession of an illegally taken bear. Rossi – a licensed assistant big game guide at the time of the incident – is also charged with five counts of unlawful acts by an assistant guide.

The charges were filed by the state Law Department’s Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals.

It’s unclear what the Parnell administration knew and when. Asked by e-mail how and when the governor’s office found out about the investigation, Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow declined to comment.

State Troopers’ Spokeswoman Megan Peters did not know if investigators talked to either the governor’s office or fish and game commissioner Cora Campbell. Peters also says she did not know what out-of-state agency originally tipped state troopers.

Rossi resigned his position with Fish and Game on Thursday.

A close friend of former Governor Sarah Palin’s parents, he joined the department in 2009 as an assistant commissioner for “abundance management” – a position specially created for Rossi by the former governor.

In 2010, Governor Sean Parnell and then-Commissioner Denby Lloyd tapped Rossi to lead the Division of Wildlife Conservation, demoting long-time fish and game employee Doug Larsen.

The appointment was controversial due to Rossi’s advocacy of predator control programs. That’s the practice of killing or relocating predators, such as wolves and bears, in an attempt to increase populations of other species, namely big game.

The Division of Wildlife Conservation is responsible for conservation and enhancement of Alaska’s wildlife and habitats for a wide range of public uses and benefits. Current Division Operations Manager Dale Rabe has been named Rossi’s interim replacement.

Seattle Police are investigating the January 3rd death of a young Juneau woman, apparently the victim of a parking lot shooting in the Rainier Beach area.

Twenty-two-year old Ashton Reyes was one of two people shot in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant in the 9300 block of Rainier Avenue South. Officers responded to calls of “shots fired” about 10 p.m. on January 3rd, and said people were running from the restaurant’s parking lot when they arrived.

Police found the wounded Reyes lying in the parking lot. She was rushed to Harborview Medical Center, where she died about 75 minutes later. According to the King County Medical Examiner, Reyes died from a gunshot wound to the torso.

Police said they found an adult male victim in another parking lot across the street; his injuries were not life-threatening.

Police are investigating the incident as a homicide. Reyes had recently completed a dental assistant program in Seattle and was working as an intern in a dentist’s office.

She graduated from Yaakoosge’ Daakahidi Alternative High School in 2008 and was the daughter of Rick Reyes of Juneau and Terri Reyes of Oregon.

A 23-year-old Juneau man faces six charges related to driving while intoxicated and causing a traffic accident last night (Thursday) in the Mendenhall Valley.

At about 8 p.m. Juneau Police received a report of a collision at the intersection of Loop Road and Egan Drive. The caller said one of the vehicles ran a red light causing the crash, and then fled the scene.

About five minutes later, officers stopped a vehicle being driven by Jonathan Cashen in the Lemon Creek Area. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated, Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, and three counts of Reckless Endangerment.

According to a JPD release, Cashen was lodged at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.

John Marvin, Jr. is not currently competent to stand trial. The judge who was expected to preside over Marvin’s murder trial made that determination during the conclusion of a hearing on Monday.

The 46-year old Marvin faces weapons misconduct and murder charges in connection with the shooting of Hoonah police officers Tony Wallace and Matt Tokuoka on August 28, 2010. The incident allegedly included Marvin holding officers at bay and refusing to surrender until a day after the shooting.

Superior Court Judge David George on Monday listened to testimony by a psychologist who tried to interview and evaluate Marvin, but he found that Marvin was evasive, uncooperative, hostile, controlling, disorganized, and delusional. Doctor David Sperbeck, currently of Northstar Behavioral Hospital, believed that Marvin understood the court process and the nature of the charges against him, but his unwillingness or inability to communicate effectively make it unlikely that Marvin could help his attorney in his defense.

Two other psychologists previously issued opinions that differed on whether Marvin was competent to stand trial. They testified on their findings back in September.

Monday’s ruling in Juneau Superior Court means that a jury trial scheduled to start January 30th has been postponed indefinitely. The next hearing in the case is in April.

Judge George committed Marvin to the Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage. Yet to be determined is whether his stay there will include competency rehabilitation. Sperbeck believed that Marvin’s competency was restorable, possibly with involuntary administration of psychotropic drugs. But he acknowledged that part of his findings were inferred by observations of Marvin with his attorney or others at A.P.I., since Marvin refused to participate in a direct interview with him.

Marvin only spoke twice during the hearing, exclaiming “I object” both times when Sperbeck spoke about Marvin’s apparent culpability in the crime. Judge George told Marvin to ask his defense attorney to make any statements or ask questions instead of speaking out of turn in court.

The hearing was started on Friday, but it was continued until Monday morning because of technical problems with the phone system at the Dimond Courthouse in Juneau.

A 19-year-old Juneau man has been arrested and charged with robbery and assault, after allegedly hitting a cab driver and stealing some of his fares.

Juneau Police say Joshua Raymond Jones caught a cab downtown at 1:45 a.m. Friday and asked for a ride to the valley. When the driver dropped him off at the Jordan Creek Shopping Center, Jones allegedly hit the man in the face and stole an undisclosed amount of cash before running off.

The driver of the cab was treated for minor injuries at Bartlett Regional Hospital.

Jones was arrested around noon on Friday and lodged at Lemon Creek Correctional Center on no bail. He’s charged with 2nd degree robbery, a class B felony, and 4th degree assault, a class A misdemeanor.