Photo courtesy APD

Police believe there could be more victims of a 26-year-old man charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse of minors.

Timothy Lineer of Anchorage has been charged with six counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, four counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, two counts of unlawful exploitation of a minor and two counts of possessing child pornography after he allegedly abused a 5-year-old and a 6-year-old, according to a statement from Jennifer Castro, Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman.

Court records show Lineer was arrested for second-degree sexual abuse of a minor in 2011, but that the charge was reduced to a conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. He was also arrested, but not convicted, for sexual abuse of a minor in 2001 and unwanted sexual contact in 2005.

Lineer confessed to police that he sexually abused the two young children, according to a criminal complaint filed in Anchorage. Police ask anyone with information on additional victims of Lineer to call APD’s Crimes Against Children Unit at 786-2668.

A 24-year-old Fort Wainwright soldier has pleaded guilty to murdering his 3-year-old son and assaulting his wife.

Sgt. Nathaniel E. Ulroan was tried at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state after he stabbed his son to death at his Fairbanks home on base in April. In addition to the premeditated murder of his son, Ulroan had been accused of abusing his wife and also pleaded guilty to kidnapping, rape, assault and communicating a threat.

A military judge handed down a life sentence without eligibility of parole and mandated that he forfeit all pay and allowances, according to a statement from the U.S. Army.

Ulroan joined the Army in 2008 and was originally stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He was deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan before being assigned to Fort Wainwright as a combat engineer in December 2012.

A native of Chevak, Ulroan is currently being held at Washington’s Northwest Joint Regional Confinement Facility, according to the Army.

Police believe there could be multiple victims of a retired teacher who has been charged with sexually abusing a minor.

David Schwantes, 73, was charged Wednesday with seven counts of sexual abuse of a minor. He pleaded not guilty to those charges Thursday.

Schwantes was a third- and fourth-grade teacher at Mt. Spurr Elementary School on Elmendorf Air Force Base (now Joint Base Elemdorf-Richardson) from 1968 to 1993, according to a statement from Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Castro. From 1993 to ’96 he worked as a substitute teacher for the Anchorage School District, and from ’99 to 2000 was an after-school activities teacher at Muldoon Elementary School.

Before working with ASD, Schwantes taught in Southeast and rural Alaska. A newsletter from the National Education Association Alaska/Retired revealed he taught in Sitka, Bethel and Adak. He was also named Anchorage Teacher of the Year in 1989 and Alaska Teacher of the Year in 1990. Because authorities don’t know how long the abusive behavior went on, his complete teaching history must be looked into, Castro said.

An investigation into Schwantes was launched in September after an alleged victim, who is now an adult, told police he was sexually abused by Schwantes, who he first met when he was attending Mt. Spurr Elementary in the late-’80s.

“During the subsequent years, Schwantes befriended and molested the victim during the 1990s, both at school and elsewhere,” Castro wrote.

Schwantes was charged with five counts of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, one count of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of attempted first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and taken to the Anchorage Jail, APD says.

Police ask people with additional information to contact APD and ask for Detective John Vandervalk of the APD Special Victims Unit.

Given the time frame of the alleged abuse and JBER’s transient population, Vandervalk said police are trying to spread the word as widely as possible in hopes of furthering their investigation. Potential victims may no longer live in Alaska, the detective said.

“Some people may have put it behind them and it may be too difficult to deal with and they may not want to come forward, that’s their own particular choice,” Vandervalk said at a Thursday press conference. “What we want to come out of this is the best possible outcome for the victims.”

Besides the criminal charges against Schwantes, court documents show he has also been named in a civil suit filed by his alleged victim. The plaintiff, identified in court documents as John Doe, seeks more than $100,000 in damages in his suit against Schwantes and the Anchorage School District.

A complaint dated July 31 alleges the sexual abuse occurred between 1988 and ’98 on school district property. The lawsuit also claims ASD was negligent with its hiring and supervision of Schwantes.

The school district couldn’t comment on what kind of background checks were in place in the late 1980s, but police don’t think anything would’ve shown up.

“There is no indications that I’ve been able to find so far in the investigation that would’ve caused anybody to have any concerns back in the day,” Vandervalk said

An Alaskan tobacco shop owner has been convicted for his role in swindling $1.3 million worth of cigarette taxes from the Municipality of Anchorage.

Michael Butler was indicted on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and conspiracy to make false statements related to cigarette distribution, according to the Alaska U.S. Attorney’s Office. Six others — Kyong Hee Kim, Sun Sims, Kimberly Sims, Jae Ho Lee, Jae Gak Lee and Jerry Lee — have also pleaded guilty for their part in the conspiracy. Insook Baik was charged in the indictment, but was acquitted at trial.

Butler and Sun Sims operated and managed Up in Smoke, located within the municipality, and Golden Eagle Tobacco and Longmere Lake Grocery and Liquor, which are located in Kenai and Sterling respectively.

Anchorage has an excise tax for cigarettes purchased within the municipality. The pair could legally purchase MOA excise tax-exempt cigarettes from tobacco wholesale distributors in the municipality, but only if those cigarettes were sold outside Anchorage, the district attorney’s office said.

From 2009 to Oct. 10, 2012, Butler and Sun Sims used the non-Anchorage store accounts to buy tax-free cigarettes they intended to sell within the municipality, court records say. The two also sold those tax-exempt cigarettes to other retailers within Anchorage for a fee. They then collected payments from those retailers and converted the money into cashier’s checks that appeared to be purchased by one of their Kenai Peninsula stores.

“Thus, they avoided paying the MOA excise tax and increased their own profits,” the district attorney’s office statement says.

A 40-year-old woman has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after she was convicted of striking a 5-year-old boy with a pool cue and back scratcher.

The child and his family had been living with Cindy Atofau for months at her home when the January assault was reported to the Anchorage Police Department, according to a statement from the state Department of Law. Thursday, Superior Court Judge Phillip Volland sentenced her to third-degree assault, a class C felony.

Following the assault, the child’s mother noticed her son had trouble sitting down and he was taken to a hospital to be evaluated and treated. He sustained injuries to his lower back, buttocks, legs, hands and ears. He also had a fractured foot and bruising on his face. Investigation revealed Atofau caused the injuries with a pool cue and a back scratcher.

In addition to her year-and-a-half sentence, Atofau was placed on felony probation for three years. Volland said the child’s injuries showed a “degree of heartlessness,” according to the DOL statement. Atofau said she accepted responsibility for her actions and apologized to the victim and his family.

A 45-year-old Anchorage man convicted of producing and distributing child pornography faces a sentence of 24 years in prison with 12 years suspended.

Kevin Callander was sentenced Friday in Superior Court, according to a statement from Assistant Attorney General Adam Alexander. Besides at least 12 years in jail, Alexander said Callander faces 10 years of probation and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

According to the Anchorage Police Department, Callander was arrested a year ago after a search warrant executed at his Anchorage home turned up dozens of videos of child pornography. Some of the videos depicted Callander abusing two young girls he knew well, and police said he distributed them online. Court records show he was charged with 15 felony crimes in connection with those videos. Ultimately, Callander was convicted of two counts: second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and possession of child pornography.

APD’s Cyber Crimes Unit headed up the investigation with help from Alaska State Troopers and United States Postal Inspectors, the assistant attorney general said. Speaking at Friday’s sentencing, Anchorage Judge Michael Wolverton called Callander’s crimes “reprehensible” and “unimaginable.”

The district attorney’s office said Callander is set to be sentenced in federal court in December for related crimes committed outside Alaska.

Last Updated Nov 10, 2014 4:56 PM

A 31-year-old man is facing murder charges after a fatal shooting in Butte Sunday evening.

Benjamin “Ben” Wilson of Palmer is charged with first- and second-degree murder and third-degree assault after allegedly killing 28-year-old Leticia Faller of Palmer, according to an online dispatch from Alaska State Troopers.

Sunday evening around 10 p.m., troopers received a 911 call about a shooting on Marth Road. According to charging documents, Wilson called 911 line stating he had just killed someone. Then, a second caller reported a female — later identified as Faller — had been shot outside of the Green Store, located at 3655 S. Old Glenn Hwy.

When authorities arrived at the scene, they found Wilson driving a red Dodge Dakota on Marth Road.

When troopers approached Wilson at 3030 S. Marth Road, he stated, “Why did I shoot her! Why?…She had a knife. I could have taken it from her. Why did I shoot her?”

Troopers then arrived at the Green Store, where they discovered Faller on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. The complaint says there was “blood, glass and vehicle tire tracks where the body had been.”

Faller was taken to an Anchorage hospital where she was declared deceased, the complaint says.

The complaint also details the events of the night and sheds light into how Wilson and Faller were acquainted.

According to the documents, Wilson and Faller were romantically involved. But Wilson told authorities he and the victim “never really had a relationship,” charging documents say.

Wilson also told authorities he and Faller’s boyfriend of three years went to the Green Store together in his truck. Faller met them there and got in the passenger’s side of Wilson’s pickup. As she entered the truck, she produced a knife and verbally assaulted Wilson, who then shot Faller in her head. Wilson then fled the scene and called police.

Faller’s sister provided a handwritten note to the Palmer Post on Sunday and also provided text conversations between Faller and others, including Wilson — all alluding that Faller may have feared for her life and the life of her 7-year-old daughter.

Wilson was arrested and charged late Monday morning and remanded at the Palmer Pretrial Correctional Facility. He is set to be arraigned tomorrow.

An 18-year-old is facing felony charges after a premeditated riot broke out at the Kenai Peninsula Youth Facility Friday night.

Cody E. Rosenthal has been charged with second-degree theft, rioting and second-degree escape, all of which are felonies, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kenai. Six others were charged, but their case information is confidential because they are minors.

A sworn affidavit signed by Officer Levi Russell with Kenai police says the 10-bed facility was housing nine prisoners when seven “engaged in a plot to overtake the staff at the facility and escape.”

One of the prisoners put employee James Adcox in a chokehold, strangling him until he was unconscious, the affidavit says. Another prisoner unsuccessfully tried to put a second employee, Adam Mayberry, in a chokehold as well. When the attempt failed, other prisoners jumped in and assaulted Mayberry.

The prisoners were then able to snag a set of keys and five of them escaped through the main doors, Russell wrote. Two of the youth weren’t able to flee and “continued to assault staff while attempting to get another set of keys.”

Adcox regained consciousness and tried to restrain one of the prisoners assaulting Mayberry. The Kenai Police Department also responded and the two youth facility employees were hospitalized with “serious injuries,” the affidavit says.

KPD and Alaska State Troopers combed the area to find the five escaped prisoners. Three of them were spotted hiding in a dumpster near the ice skating rink off Rogers Road. One of the three was Rosenthal, who was being housed at the youth facility for multiple criminal charges, Russell wrote.

Rosenthal denied any involvement in the physical assaults, but did admit to helping plot the escape. He says he used the swiped keys to unlock the doors that led to the front lobby and to the facility’s main exit. After the group of five fled, they separated into two groups, the affidavit says.

Karen Forrest, director for the state’s Division of Juvenile Justice, says escapes and assaults are rare.

“In this case, having five youth involved and escape and having two staff injured is very unusual, and I don’t recall an incident like this, to this degree, occurring in the past,” Forrest said in an interview over the weekend.

Dedicated in 2003, the Kenai Peninsula Youth Facility is one of eight juvenile detention centers in the state, where the typical stay is usually less than 30 days, Forrest said. Those receiving long-term treatment stay for about a year.

At this stage, it’s too early so say if policy changes will be made, Forrest said.

“In terms of moving forward, it’s making sure that staff who have been injured have the services that they need,” she said. “Looking at the incident and making sure that we have all the safety and security measures in place.”

A Juneau man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman who had passed out in a downtown park has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The Juneau Empire (bit.ly/149jLM4) reports Gilbert C. Willard was arrested after a witness in August 2013 called 911 to report that Willard had groped the intoxicated woman at Juneau’s Marine Park.

At the sentencing hearing Friday, Superior Court Judge Louis Menendez described Willard as a man who “preys upon the defenseless” and is a danger to the public.

Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp said Willard had a previous felony assault conviction and eight misdemeanor assault convictions. She recommended a 30-year sentence with 10 years suspended.

Judge Menendez sentenced Willard to 25 years in prison with 10 suspended.

___

Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com

(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Police arrested a Fairbanks man Monday for allegedly posing as a police officer while attempting to extort money from women working in the commercial sex industry.

Jase O. Connors, 26, was arrested following an investigation into threatening he emails he sent the women, according to an online dispatch from Alaska State Troopers.

“At one point, the individual relayed a message to one of his victim(s) that made it look like he was going to use his position as a police officer to further his intent to extort the victim,” the dispatch says.

Investigators verified Connors was not a certified police officer affiliated with any police authority. He was taken to the Fairbanks Correctional Center and charged with impersonating a public servant and attempted extortion.

Earlier this month, troopers arrested a different man for police impersonation. Jake Taylor Crain, 18, was arrested for using police-style flashing lights to try to pull over drivers in the Fairbanks area.

Days after the ceremony in Manokotak was held in memory of slain Village Public Safety Officer Thomas Madole, his suspected killer has been found guilty of first-degree murder.

Madole was shot and killed March 19, 2013, while responding to a domestic violence call in the Alaska Native community.

At a jury trial in Dillingham Tuesday, Leroy Dick, Jr., 44, was found guilty of first-degree murder of a peace officer, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch.

Dick’s sentencing is scheduled for March 2015.

Alaska State Troopers are looking for an underwear thief, believed to have unlawfully entered residents' homes in Kodiak.

Alaska State Troopers are warning Kodiak residents after receiving reports of burglaries, trespassing and theft.

During the past week, troopers say residents are returning to their homes to find their residences have been unlawfully entered, according to an online AST dispatch posted Wednesday.

Various items such as women’s underwear have been stolen and/or rifled through in Kodiak residences, troopers say.

AST believes the string of recent incidents are related and, after further investigation, have been notified of similar events over the past few months. Those incidents, however, were not reported to authorities.

Troopers have asked the public not to leave their homes unsecured and to be aware of their surroundings. They are also asking residents to report all suspicious activity.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding these cases, or similar activity, is asked to call AST at 486-4121.

Bukurim Miftari has remained in a jail cell for more than two years, charged with the September 2012 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Kristen Reid.

Anchorage police found Reid’s naked body in a ditch along Fairbanks Street the morning of Sept. 18, 2012. She died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Prosecutors claim Miftari fired the bullet, but the defendant’s lawyers disagree.

“This young man is innocent,” says Miftari’s lead attorney, Rex Butler. “He wouldn’t do this to his girlfriend, just wouldn’t do it.”

The prosecution claims on that night in September, Reid took a visit to the Great Alaskan Bush Company, located on East International Airport Road near Fairbanks Street, with a girlfriend. That’s where they ran into Miftari, who had been there with two other people.

All five sat at the bar together, and news accounts suggest they seemed to get along. Reid and her girlfriend left a few hours later and went to the other woman’s apartment.

Miftari is said to have eventually showed up there with a gun and kidnapped Reid.

Police say they found Reid’s body in a ditch near the strip club, a little more than four hours after she left it. Reid’s clothes had been scattered on both sides of the street.

Miftari’s lawyers believe someone else committed the crime, pointing to evidence.

“It was no secret her purse contained a fair amount of money in it,” Butler said. “A fair amount of drugs when they recovered it.”

Jury selection begins Thursday morning. Meanwhile, Miftari remains in jail on $1 million bail.

If convicted, Miftari could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Two former supervisors at a Dutch Harbor seafood processing facility were sentenced in federal court Wednesday to jail time for Clean Air Act violations.

James Hampton, 45, was sentenced to 70 days in jail and Raul Morales, 53, will serve 45 days for falsifying data to cover up that they were intentionally not operating required air pollution controls at the Westward Seafoods, Inc. processing facility. The two men were also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and serve a one-year supervision period after being released, according to a statement from the Alaska U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

Hampton, the former assistant chief engineer for Westward, and Morales, the former powerhouse supervisor, knowingly broke the law, said Chief U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline in the statement, adding that the sentences handed down should deter others from committing similar crimes.

Westward, a subsidiary of Japan-based Maruha-Nichiro Holdings, Inc., has operated a seafood processing facility in Dutch Harbor since the ’90s and processes about 250 million pounds of seafood a year, charges say. The facility generates its own electricity with diesel-fueled generators in the powerhouse building. Air emissions from the generators – which are regulated by a Title V Permit under the Clean Air Act — are vented through a smokestack.

Under the terms of the permit, Westward was supposed to install and use pollution control equipment to lessen the amount of nitrogen dioxide emitted. To meet the permit requirements, Westward installed a combustion air saturation system (CASS) for the generator units. From 2009 to August 2011, however, Westward did not use CASS pollution control equipment, the district attorney’s office says.

“Raul Morales discussed with James Hampton that he and the powerhouse staff had stopped operating the CASS. Thereafter, Hampton not only allowed this permit violation to continue, but he used his position to actively participate in a cover-up designed to make it appear that the CASS was in fact being used as required by law,” the district attorney’s office statement says.

Morales, along with powerhouse operator Bryan Beigh, falsified data collection forms daily. Beigh also pleaded guilty in the cover-up and will be sentenced later this month, said attorney Kevin R. Feldis. The false information made it look like the CASS was operating when it was actually off, and included false water meter flow readings to mask the disuse.

The deceit continued in April 2011, when Hampton took an Environmental Protection Agency inspector through the Westward powerhouse during an inspection. The company had a heads up about the visit and started operating the CASS equipment to make it appear that they had been using it routinely.

Although the EPA didn’t receive any reports of harm to humans from the emissions, nitrogen dioxide can cause airway inflammation and cause or worsen respiratory condition symptoms such as asthma and bronchitis.

“When they turned off the pollution controls for two years, emissions from this major pollution source increased, potentially putting workers or anyone nearby at risk for increased breathing problems,” said Tyler Amon, special agent-in-charge of the EPA Criminal Investigation Division in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, in a statement.

This is not the first time the company has been involved in Clean Air Act violations. In 2010, Westward agreed to pay a civil penalty following prior allegations “that the company had, among other things, violated emissions limits under the Clean Air Act,” the district attorney’s office statement says.

An Anchorage teen who caused the death of a mother early last year has learned the price he will pay for his actions.

Murphy Gross, 17, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide and sentenced to one year in prison Thursday for the February 2013 crash that took the life of Catherine Cope.

Gross was 16 years old when he took someone’s car and drove without a license. He also smoked marijuana before the crash that took place at the intersection of Northern Lights Boulevard and A Street.

Gross became distracted and missed a red light before he slammed into an SUV.

The collision killed Cope and injured three others in the car, including Cope’s husband, who spoke to Gross during Thursday’s hearing.

“Nearly every day that goes by, my oldest daughter asks for her mother,” said Ryan Cope. “She asks if mommy is in heaven, is mommy proud of her, if mommy can see her even if she’s in school.”

Gross also got the chance to address the courtroom.

“The accident is always on my mind, and I will have to live with for the rest of my life,” he said. “I ask with an open heart if you can forgive me, but I understand your feelings are solely on my wrongdoing.”

Prosecutors chose not to pursue texting-while-driving charges against Gross because they did not believe they could prove it.

Gross must also serve five years probation, perform 960 hours of community service and receive drug and alcohol counseling.

Gross could be back home in less than a year with time off for good behavior.

A 31-year-old man charged with murdering a Palmer woman was indicted on additional kidnapping charges Thursday.

A Palmer grand jury indicted Benjamin E. Wilson of Palmer for first- and second-degree murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, third-degree assault and coercion, according to an online dispatch from Alaska State Troopers posted Friday morning.

Wilson has previously been charged with murder and assault after allegedly shooting 28-year-old Leticia Faller Sunday evening in Butte. She was taken to an Anchorage hospital, where she was declared deceased, charges say. An investigation revealed Wilson also kidnapped 25-year-old Torin Ford of Palmer — Faller’s boyfriend of three years — before he shot Faller.

Wilson is being held at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility with bail set at $250,000.

One man is in custody and another is in the hospital after the Anchorage Police Department responded to a reported stabbing outside an Eagle River residence around 7:40 p.m. Thursday, according to a statement from APD.

Hugh Jeffrey Perry, 41, was charged with first-degree assault after he allegedly stabbed his roommate multiple times in the yard outside their Eagle River home, APD said.

Before police arrived at the residence, Perry apparently fled the scene in a green Ford Explorer. He was later discovered by Alaska State Troopers and arrested at a home in Palmer, according to APD.

Bail was set at $30,000 with a third-party custodian issued.

The victim was taken to a nearby hospital to receive treatment for his injuries and is reportedly in stable condition, police said.

Last Updated Nov 16, 2014, 6 p.m.

Anchorage police seized an extensive amount of illegal drugs from an East Anchorage residence Friday night.

Laura Johnson, 39, and Alex Tejeda, 33, were arrested and charged with second -and third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance in connection with the narcotics found, according to a release from the Anchorage Police Department.

While APD isn’t immediately releasing how long the investigation has been underway, APD spokeswoman Jennifer Castro says police gathered intel that suggested there may have been drugs at the residence, located on the 5700 block of Rocky Mountain Court.

“After applying and being granted search warrants for the residence, the investigation confirmed that there were drugs there,” said Castro in an email.

APD’s Special Assignment Unit seized over 800 grams of illegal drugs — 683 grams of methamphetamine, 101 grams of cocaine and 24 grams of heroin — from the residence. The confiscated drugs carried a total street value of $111,000.

“In general, when you seize a quantity this large, it’s at the supplier level, meaning it would be dispersed to dealers and then dealers would take it to the street/individual clients,” Castro said.

APD’s Vice Unit also assisted in the investigation. Officers believe this bust will likely disrupt a major drug supplier in the Anchorage area that services more than 100 people.

Two men are in custody after troopers say a kidnapping attempt in North Pole went awry.

Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of a kidnapping on Wednesday. Bill Kraus, 57, and Isaac Horman, 40, forced their way into a North Pole residence at gunpoint, according to an online AST dispatch posted Saturday. They then demanded the individuals inside the residence to give him their cell phones.

As Kraus and Horman were exiting the residence, they took two occupants with them. Troopers say they released one victim and drove off with the other victim.

While Kraus and Horman were driving down the road, their vehicle went into a ditch, troopers say. The victim inside the vehicle was able to escape.

Troopers arrested Kraus on Friday and Horman on Saturday. Both men were transported to the Fairbanks Correctional Center on charges of kidnapping, robbery, burglary and assault.

The suspect believed to be actively stealing women’s underwear in Kodiak has been taken into custody.

Alaska State Troopers warned of the bandit last week, as residents returned home to find their residences had been unlawfully entered. Residents reported items — mainly women’s underwear — as missing. Further investigation by troopers revealed that similar events had also occurred over the past few months, according to an online AST dispatch posted Wednesday.

Late Monday morning, troopers responded to a report of a home invasion in progress. The suspect fled the scene, but AST was able to learn the identity of a possible suspect and vehicle. Based on that information, authorities were able to make contact with 18-year-old Ryan Cornelio.

Over the past three months, Cornelio unlawfully entered seven homes in the Kodiak area and unsuccessfully attempted to break into an additional three residences, according to an AST dispatch posted Monday.

Cornelio has been remanded on three counts of first-degree burglary. Troopers say he is expected to face additional charges.