Public Safety

An Arkansas court will hear motions in May on whether to transfer to juvenile court the case of three Arkansas teenagers charged with Kevin Thornton’s murder.

The date was set on Monday when Richard Whybark, age 17, Timothy Norwood and Clinton Ross, both age 16, appeared in Hot Spring County Circuit Court.

The teens were charged in August in adult court with the second degree murder of 19-year-old Kevin Thornton, of Juneau, who was visiting the Malvern, Arkansas area when he was assaulted while he and a friend were walking along a road. Prosecutors say the teens attacked the two for no apparent reason. They’re also are charged with an aggravating count of violent group activity.

Defense attorneys argue the charges should have been initially filed in juvenile court. They filed the motion to transfer in October.

Attorney Gregory Crain appeared with the trio in court on Monday. In his motion, he argues that subjecting a juvenile to the penalties available to adults – such as a life sentence without parole – is cruel and unusual punishment under the U.S. and Arkansas constitutions.

The hearing on the motion to transfer the case to juvenile court is scheduled for May first.

Meanwhile, mental evaluations for Ross and Whybark indicate the teens have the capacity to understand the legal proceedings against them and to effectively assist in their own defense.

All three boys recently went through court-ordered forensic examinations. Results for two were available. According to the psychologist’s report, neither Ross nor Whybark had any mental disease or defect at the time of the examination and the alleged conduct.

The forensic report indicates both had the capacity to appreciate the criminality of the alleged offense.

Ross had just finished 9th grade prior to alleged assault of Thornton. He told the psychologist that he had been arrested once on a battery charge at age 15. He reported using alcohol, often to intoxication on some weekends, and said he had consumed about 10 to 15 beers the afternoon of the alleged assault.

Whybark was a senior in high school. He reported receiving school counseling for anger issues in 11th grade. Whybark told the psychologist that he began using alcohol about age 12. He said prior to his arrest he was using it most weekends to the point of becoming intoxicated.

He also said he had consumed 14 to 15 beers the afternoon of the alleged assault that resulted in Thornton’s death.

Under Arkansas law, self-induced intoxication is not a defense for failure to recognize one’s actions are culpable.

Federal authorities say a Juneau restaurant bought subsistence-caught halibut to serve up for their clientele.

Owners of the Zen Restaurant and Jaded Bar will pay an $18,000 dollar penalty as part of a settlement agreement signed on February 23rd. Federal investigators say Zen’s owners purchased subsistence halibut on two occasions during an undercover investigation in February and March of 2010. Search warrants were then served on the restaurant and the owners’ residences.

Zen features Asian fusion cuisine and is located in the Goldbelt Hotel. A phone answerer at Zen on Monday said owners Cai and Yao Hu were not in the restaurant. They do not have a listed home number.

The maximum penalty under the Northern Pacific Halibut Act could’ve been $200,000 for each violation. That’s the federal law that prohibits the sale, trade, or barter of subsistence halibut.

Federal authorities did not specify whether the subsistence fisherman who caught the halibut was charged for a violation or cooperated in the investigation.

This isn’t the first time that a Juneau restaurant operator has been caught serving up subsistence-caught halibut. Federal agents swooped into Doc Water’s Pub at Merchant’s Wharf four years ago. Both the restaurant owner Jason Maroney and the subsistence fisherman David Skrzynski were eventually convicted of violating the Lacey Act. That’s the federal law prohibiting sale or purchase of fish or wildlife that’s been acquired in violation of another state or federal law. Skrzynski was a commercial salmon fisherman and holder of a Subsistence Halibut Registration Certificate, or SHARC card, but he did not have a valid commercial entry permit for halibut.

State Troopers say a Juneau man was rescued off the Juneau Icefield on Friday afternoon after he lost his ski in a crevasse and rolled his ankle.

Kyle Thompson, 28, called in to report that he was injured and could not walk at Suicide Basin. That’s identified as along the east side of Mendenhall Glacier about two miles up from the terminus on the back side of Bullard Mountain. With the help of Temsco helicopters, Troopers evacuated Thompson and his skiing companion, identified as 23-year old Lee McDonald-Pownall.

Once down at sea level, Troopers report that Thompson was transported to Bartlett Regional Hospital in a personal vehicle.

Ten years in prison for a Juneau man arrested at SeaTac trying to transport methamphetamine to Juneau. Ryan Budd Barnett, 30, was sentenced in U-S District Court in Juneau on Friday. Investigators say he and another transporter were caught with 11 ounces of meth when they were stopped. Burnett was convicted by a jury last March.

U.S. District Court Judge Tim Burgess said he thought that ten years was too much, but noted that he was constrained by mandatory sentence guidelines set by Congress. Defense attorney Kirsten Swanson said Burnett has essentially been scared straight since his arrest and wants to get his life on track. Burgess made a special note to have Burnett incarcerated in federal facility with an electrician’s or other vocational training program. Burnett will also be on probation for five years.

Also on Friday, Sacramento, California resident Jessica Nashea Cooper, 22, was sentenced to time already served for attempting to transport oxycodone to Juneau. She was also stopped at SeaTac in possession of 667 80-milligram pills. Burgess said that Cooper has “excellent prospects for turning her life around” and noted her attempts to stay employed and pursue an education.

Cooper has already been incarcerated for about 14 months in six different facilities in four different states. Her sentence on Friday meant that she was due to be released over the weekend.

Burgess told Cooper that she got a huge break in this case, and hoped that she took advantage of that and do something with her life.

The Alaska Supreme Court has ordered the state Redistricting Board to redraw its proposed map of legislative boundaries.

A day after hearing oral arguments in the case, the Supreme Court issued its order late this afternoon (Wednesday).

The Justices point to an earlier case, Hickel v. Southeast Conference, in which the Court ruled that while the federal Voting Rights Act takes precedence over the Alaska Constitution, it should not be given so much weight that the constitution is “unnecessarily compromised.”

The order directs the board to make sure the plan first meets the requirements of the constitution, and only deviates when absolutely necessary to conform to the Voting Rights Act.

The Supreme Court also commends the Redistricting Board and Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy for their hard work on the issue. McConahy ordered the board to redraw four proposed House districts, after the plan was challenged by a pair of Fairbanks residents. Three of the districts he ordered redrawn include parts of the Fairbanks North Star Borough. The other is in western Alaska, and includes Bethel as well as the western Aleutian Islands.

To read the Supreme Court’s order, click here.

An Anchorage man initially accused of forgery and theft of Alaska Permanent Fund dividends changed his plea in Juneau Superior Court on Monday.

Daniel Batalona, 64, was charged in October with three counts of first degree forgery and three counts of second degree theft. He entered a guilty plea to a single count of second degree forgery. The other charges were dismissed.

The initial charges were for three dividends disbursed in 2010 to grandchildren Alexis, Faith, and Destiny that were accepted and signed by himself and his son Zachary. They were then deposited into his credit union account. Each of the dividends was for $1,281.

Daniel Batalona said earlier that he deposited the checks for his grandchildren who moved to Hawaii with their father in 2009. He was going to hold on to the money until they got older. He said he already returned the money and he had rejected an earlier proposed plea deal that would’ve allowed him to avoid jail time.

Batalona will likely be sentenced to probation, suspended jail time, and pay a fine during the June 5th sentencing hearing.

Charges were also filed against 39-year old Zachary Batalona for unsworn falsification and theft. A warrant was issued for his arrest.