Photo courtesy Google Maps

A 53-year-old woman has been charged by the State of Alaska for her role in managing an alleged prostitution operation in Anchorage.

From 2011 to 2014, Yin Mei Tran Lau operated Yin’s Massage Therapy, located at 4608 Spenard Rd., as “a front for prostitution,” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The massage parlor’s clientele was almost entirely men, the release says, citing detectives who investigated the case. The only women, besides Lau, at the business appear to have resided there and offered to perform sexual acts for money. Lau also allegedly transported multiple women in and out of the state for prostitution.

Along with third-degree sex trafficking, Lau is also charged with structuring — breaking down large amounts of cash into smaller deposits to evade suspicion of money laundering. Over the course of one week in January 2009, Lau made multiple transactions, all under the $10,000 reporting threshold, “so as to evade reporting requirements mandated by the Bank Secrecy Act, the release says. She allegedly used some of the illegally structured funds to purchase property in Anchorage.

Lau faces five years imprisonment and fines, if convicted, for the structuring charge. If convicted of sex trafficking, she faces up to five years in prison.

Lau’s arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 16.

Photo courtesy Google Maps

Three individuals have been charged in connection with a pair of armed robberies that occurred Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning in Anchorage.

The successful arrest of the suspects was due to assistance by observant citizens, according to a statement from the Anchorage Police Department.

At around 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, police responded to the report of an armed robbery at the Value Liquor store, located at 601 W. Dimond Blvd. Two male adults entered the store and held a clerk at gunpoint while demanding money from the cash drawer before fleeing the scene, police say.

“An arriving customer saw the suspects exit the liquor store and enter a red vehicle before driving away,” APD says. “The customer was then able to provide this information to police.”

Hours after the first robbery, just before 2 a.m., APD received another report of an armed robbery. Police responded to the Chevron, located at 415 Muldoon Rd. Dispatch advised the responding officers that a Checker Cab driver watched the suspects get into a red car before driving off. The cab driver followed the vehicle and provided police with both the license plate and a sense of where the vehicle was headed. Police used that information to find the abandoned suspect vehicle near the intersection of 10th Avenue and Cherry Street.

There, they began tracking the suspects on-foot, with the help of other officers. They located two male suspects miles into the woods, APD says. Other officers apprehended the third suspect, a female, nearby.

All three have been charged in connection with the robberies. Damon Nuipok, 19, has been charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of misconduct involving a weapon. Jovante McCord, 19, has been charged with two counts of first-degree robbery and two counts of tampering with evidence. The third suspect, 17, has been charged with two counts of first-degree robbery.

An Anchorage man who worked at Huffman Elementary School faces child pornography charges.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Daniel Alan Brown Monday on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. The Anchorage School District said Brown worked at Huffman, located at 12000 Lorraine St., as a teaching assistant in the Extended Resource Classroom.

Principal Darrell Vincek sent a letter home with students Tuesday alerting parents that an employee “has been charged with illegal activity by law enforcement.”

“I understand this may cause some concern among parents and staff,” Vincek writes in the letter to parents. “I share your concern and want to assure you that our school staff takes your child’s personal safety very seriously.”

Every employee in the district goes through a background check before being hired, says ASD spokesperson Heidi Embley.

“Generally, when employees are arrested, there are no previous indications or nothing on their record to indicate there was any wrongdoing prior to their hire,” said Embley.

On Wednesday afternoon, Matthew Millar was at the elementary school to pick up his nephew. He said it’s disheartening to know a teacher could violate the students’ trust.

“Just kind of shocked as a community,” said Millar. “Even as an uncle, to think my nephew was around someone that had those skeletons in their closet in a sense.”

Embley said, so far, the FBI’s investigation shows that no Huffman students were involved in any incidents nor does it show that there was any child pornography on Brown’s school computer.

The FBI says the case has been handed over to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Alaska State Troopers discovered more than 200 pot plants growing in a Wasilla home after a man was suspected of stealing power from Matanuska Electric Association, charges say.

Kevin Mielke, 37, was in the midst of cooking crack cocaine when authorities arrived at the Yadon Drive home Thursday afternoon, according to a sworn affidavit signed by Trooper Nasruk Nay. He was arrested on charges of second-degree theft, four counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance and one count of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.

MEA began a theft investigation after the co-operative was tipped off that Mielke was swiping their power. They discovered that between Nov. 11 and Dec. 7, power was being supplied to the home straight from the service line, bypassing the residential meter. In all, about $1,280 worth of power was stolen, Nay wrote.

A search warrant was obtained, and when troopers entered the home they found Mielke “hiding behind marijuana plants in a grow room,” the affidavit says. Authorities found 235 plants — at various stages of growth — along with 54.73 grams of processed marijuana; a dish that contained cocaine residue, which was being converted from base cocaine to crack; a small measuring cup still moist with crack cocaine in it and an additional 1.1 grams of crack cocaine. There were also several high-intensity grow lights, fans, ballasts and timers operating in the home.

MEA dug up the service line to the residence and confirmed the illegal power supply. Mielke was taken to the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility and held on $10,000 bail.

Recently unsealed charging documents reveal that a former teaching assistant at Huffman Elementary School started downloading child pornography roughly 10 years ago and had amassed an estimated 100 gigabytes of the illegal content on his computer.

On Monday, the FBI arrested Daniel Alan Brown, who worked at Huffman as a teaching assistant in the Extended Resource Classroom, according to the Anchorage School District. Brown was located following a tip from the New Zealand Police Department.

Brown told authorities he used Yahoo and a “Russian-based website” to find child porn, and would talk to others using the Russian site about porn. In an interview with the FBI, Brown said his downloading activity had escalated to the point that he was “actively trading images as much as three times a week,” according to a probable cause statement.

An FBI forensic examiner found dozens of items of child pornography on Brown’s home computer, and the former teaching assistant  told law enforcement officers that he also kept the illicit material on an older computer and a hard drive stored in a safe deposit box.

So far, the FBI’s investigation shows that no Huffman students were involved in any incidents, ASD spokesperson Heidi Embley said in a Wednesday interview.

The man who pleaded guilty to stabbing an Anchorage Police Department K-9 and assaulting an officer this summer will spend several years in jail.

Noel Hommerding, 38, faces a composite sentence of nine years with five years suspended and three years of probation, according to the Alaska Attorney General’s office. The charges against Hommerding — first-degree harming a police dog and third-degree assault — stem from a July incident in Mountain View. When officers responded to a report of a disturbance near the intersection of North Flower Street and Peterkin Avenue, Hommerding took off running, according to APD.

K-9 officer MP gave pursuit, and Hommerding used a pocket knife to stab the dog in the head and neck. The dog survived after undergoing surgery, and has since retired from the force.

Speaking at Hommerding’s sentencing, Alaska Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton said the crime was especially serious since it was directed at a police officer.

An Anchorage music teacher told the court he has struggled with an addiction to pornography since childhood.

Stuart Ravn, 26, also said he has Asperger Syndrome and apologized for his halting speech during his sentencing hearing Friday. Ravn has been convicted of 22 counts of possessing and distributing child porn.

Ravn taught music lessons to children out of his parents’ home, but investigators did not find evidence of abuse.

In court, Ravn said he tried for many years to change his behavior.

“I have a hard time living with myself, knowing that those things are in my head,” Ravn said. “As far as the so-called child erotica goes, I take responsibility for possessing and laying my eyes on those depictions as well. They are all transgressions upon young people’s moments of shame and misery.”

Ravn told the judge he felt frustrated by the justice system, because after a long struggle with his addiction, he finally sought help from a therapist who turned him in to police.

“The people that I’ve been housed with, who are charged with child pornography offense, there always seem to be a strenuously contrived story about how it came to be in their possession,” Ravn said. “I don’t have any purpose in trying to lie to the court about having these things.”

Investigators said the images Ravn downloaded from the Internet came from a sophisticated Russian child porn ring, of which Ravn was a member. Some depicted children involved in sadistic and masochistic acts. Some were only toddlers.

Ravn drew a sentence of five years and nine months, with eight years suspended and ten years probation. He could have faced two to 12 years for each of the 22 counts.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jack Smith noted Ravn’s sentence could have been much worse if Ravn, a first-time felon, was charged with a crime for every image he downloaded or distributed.

“It’s possible to have thousands of depictions of pornography,” Smith said. “If the state chose to consider every one of them, you’d be looking at an unreasonable sentencing range.

The judge said he would require restitution in the case, which would be decided at a later hearing.

Once Ravn is released, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

His mother is angry about Friday’s sentence.

“He was reaching out for help,” she said. “When I think of all the individuals who do serious harm, all he did was download things on the Internet. Yes, these were abhorrent images, but it is a travesty of justice to what’s being done to this young man because he asked for help.”

Ravn’s mother said he felt so much guilt for his addiction to child pornography that he has attempted suicide.

Bukurim Miftari, charged with the murder of his ex-girlfriend, was found guilty on all counts Monday.

The trial, which began in November, came to a close today as Miftari was found guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, kidnapping and tampering with physical evidence. He has remained in jail on $1-million bond since his arrest more than two years ago.

In September 2012, officers from the Anchorage Police Department found Reid’s naked body in a ditch along Fairbanks Street near a strip club she visited the night before. She died from a gunshot wound to the head.

Reid and Miftari were seen together at the Great Alaskan Bush Company, located on East International Airport Road, along with three other people.

Reid and her girlfriend left a few hours later and went to the other woman’s apartment. According to prosecutors, Miftari eventually showed up to the apartment with a gun and kidnapped Reid.

Police say Reid’s clothes had been scattered on both sides of the street when they found her.

Reid had been a drug dealer, according to both prosecutors and defense attorneys. But her stepdaughter, Rayana Jackson, says murder wasn’t the answer, especially as her family has had to “make due” in light of Reid’s death.

“I was happy of the verdict,” said Jackson, adding that her family is now separated. “And she was my mom, so I needed justice.”

Moments after Monday’s verdict, an outburst from Miftari’s mother — who needed medical attention — required the courtroom to be cleared briefly.

Sentencing is set for Apr. 16, 2015.

This cross, bearing Frank Pushruk's name, could be seen in March at the lookout point along the Glenn Highway outside Palmer.

A second teen has been charged with the murder of a Palmer man, who was shot and killed earlier this year.

Referred to in earlier charging documents as “EA,” Ethan Angasan, 16, was indicted Wednesday on second-degree murder and manslaughter in connection with the killing of 45-year old Frank Pushruk.

In March, Jacob Dvorak, 17, was charged with first-degree murder after he admitted to shooting Pushruk in the face with a .45 handgun. The teenagers made plans to beat up Pushruk in retribution for allegedly raping a friend of theirs, according to charging documents.

The two reportedly picked up Pushruk from his home, then drove to a lookout point along the Glenn Highway, where they confronted him about the alleged sexual assault.

Dvorak then reportedly shot Pushruk once in the face and twice in the head after he had fallen down. Documents show Dvorak and Angasan then dumped then the body over a fence near Mile 52 of the Glenn Highway.

Angasan is also charged with criminally negligent homicide and tampering with evidence.

A 59-year-old Tanana man has pleaded guilty to assault after threatening a village public safety officer.

Arvin Kangas entered his plea Monday for placing Sgt. Mark Haglin in fear of physical injury. Officials say Kangas threatened to assault the officer, and then later looked at Haglin while pointing to a weapon.

Kangas received a 180-day sentence, of which 150 days were suspended.

The threats against Haglin on April 30 led to the arrival the following day of Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Scott Johnson and Trooper Gabe Rich to serve an arrest warrant.

Kangas’ son, Nathanial, is accused of shooting and killing both officers while making the arrest.

The younger Kangas faces an April murder trial. Arvin Kangas remains in jail, facing evidence tampering and hindering prosecution charges from that day.

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

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of 54-year-old Irma Williams.

After weeks of investigation, police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of 54-year-old Irma Williams. The missing Anchorage woman’s death was ruled a homicide after an autopsy in November.

Tuesday, a grand jury indicted Williams’ former boyfriend, 46-year-old Michael Memeo, in connection with her death, according to a statement from the Anchorage Police Department.

Williams was reported missing by family members on Sept. 30. Her body was found weeks later by a passerby near Lions Park in Mountain View, the neighborhood in which Williams resided.

Memeo, who has prior offenses extending back to 1991, has now been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. He is currently being held at the Anchorage Jail on $500,000 cash-only bail, plus third-party custodian.

Memeo’s arraignment is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Three Thanksgivings, three Christmases, three anniversaries – Deborah Harris gave a tally of time missed by Kerry Fadely, her partner of 10 years, who was shot and killed in October 2011.

“And we will continue to miss her for the rest of my life,” said Harris of Fadely at Tuesday’s sentencing.

The man who murdered Fadely, 50-year-old Javier Martinez, was sentenced to 99 years in prison by a judge today.

On Tuesday in a state courtroom, Fadely’s family and friends faced her killer.

“I have had to explain to my grandchildren why Kerry wouldn’t be around to ride a bicycle with them, to go to Disneyland with them,” Harris said. “But when I leave here today, he’ll go to hell and rot in jail.”

Martinez had previously been deported from the United States and was working in Alaska illegally under a false name, Victor Flores. Fadely was his boss at the Millennium Hotel. A federal judge previously sentenced him to 65 years for immigration and weapons violations and identity theft convictions.

As part of a plea deal, Martinez agreed to serve 99 years in prison for the first-degree murder charge. It was up to the state sentencing judge to decide if Martinez would serve his state and federal sentences concurrently or consecutively.

Throughout the proceeding, Martinez smirked at the family, even interrupting Harris at one point.

“He stole a daughter from a mom,” Harris said at the sentencing. “You don’t bury your own children, and it’s not right. It’s a stupid, ridiculous act of violence for nothing, for nothing.”

“You don’t know that,” Martinez countered.

“I know enough!” Harris shouted back.

“You don’t know that,” he said again.

Before he handed down the sentence, Judge Michael Wolverton said Martinez has continued to show no remorse for his crime. Martinez shot 55-year-old Fadely 11 times at the Millennium Hotel.

“This is about the most brazen assassination I’ve ever seen,” Wolverton said. “I’ve been doing this a long time.”

Martinez will serve the 99-year sentence consecutively to his federal sentence. He’ll be transferred out of state to a federal facility.

“For my children and my family, it’s a sense of closure and being able to move forward,” Harris said. “Not being able to have the death penalty in the state of Alaska, it’s the best we could hope for.”

A Fairbanks teenager involved in a shootout during an attempt to rob a drug dealer has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (http://bit.ly/1DP4QGR) reports 17-year-old Chester Clifton Fields Jr. fired a 9mm handgun that hit a man whom he and an accomplice were trying to rob.

Cross was 16 on Feb. 25 when he and 21-year-old Isaiah Cross entered an apartment at Wedgewood Resort. Fields carried a pistol and Cross carried a BB gun.

Prosecutors say a man inside the apartment shot Cross several times. Fields fired at the shooter and a bullet lodged against the man’s spine.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Crail says Fields is lucky the man did not die or he would be facing a murder charge.

Fields pleaded guilty to robbery.

___

Information from: Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner, http://www.newsminer.com

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

Two people are in custody and $400,000 worth of heroin was seized after authorities launched an investigation into heroin trafficking in the Mat-Su Valley, authorities say.

Tuesday, a federal grand jury indicted 37-year-old Seneca Neal of Anchorage and 40-year-old Lamon Washington of Fairbanks for heroin distribution and conspiracy to distribute more than a kilogram of the drug. They were arrested and remain in custody.

Back in September, the Alaska State Troopers Mat-Su Drug Unit — with the help of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) — launched the Valley heroin trafficking investigation. “Several suspects” were identified and authorities seized about 48 grams of heroin in late October, according to an AST dispatch posted Thursday.

Continued investigation resulted in authorities seizing another 266 grams of heroin at a Wasilla home, the dispatch says. Ultimately, AST was able to identify a source in Anchorage who supplied heroin to people in Wasilla and Fairbanks. Other seizures include:

• Nov. 19 — AST and Drug Enforcement Administration agents seize 141 grams of heroin and more than $17,000 in cash
• Nov. 30 — the Mat-Su Drug Unit served a search warrant on Arctic Boulevard in Anchorage and seized 445 grams of heroin, $980 in cash and a custom truck.

More suspects have been identified and charges are being forwarded for prosecution, AST said.

–This is a developing story. 

Representatives from Noble Drilling U.S. LLC, which operated a drill ship in the Arctic, pleaded guilty to eight felony counts in Anchorage federal court Friday morning.

As part of a plea agreement with the federal government, the company admitted breaking both environmental and maritime laws when it worked as a contractor for Shell while drilling for oil in the Chukchi Sea in 2012.

Judge Ralph Beistline accepted the guilty pleas, and imposed the terms of the agreement in his sentencing. The company must pay $8.2 million in fines. In addition, they will pay $4 million in community service payments. Much of that money will go toward research projects in the Arctic.

The company was also ordered to implement an environmental compliance plan. Representatives from Noble told the judge they had already begun a voluntary compliance plan, and agreed to pay for an independent auditor to make sure they continue to be in compliance.

Beistline said he was satisfied that the company had worked quickly to correct their problems. He reminded them that they will be on probation for the next four years. The judge said any violations could violate the terms of the plea agreement. In that case, the company could be re-sentenced with maximum penalties imposed.

A 24-year-old man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Friday for killing a 20-year-old woman while driving drunk in 2013.

While driving north on Boniface Parkway near DeBarr Road in June 2013, Lane Douglas Wyatt ran a red light and slammed into a car driven by Citari Townes-Sweatt. Townes-Sweatt, the driver, was killed in the collision. Passengers in both vehicles suffered injuries.

Wyatt was sentenced to 18 years with five years suspended after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, first-degree assault and driving under the influence. He will be eligible for parole in 11-12 years.

Wyatt admitted to drinking five beers and three shots at Chilkoot Charlie’s prior to getting behind the wheel. According to officers at the scene, a blood test showed the then-U.S. Air Force airman was two and a half times over the legal limit, according to a statement from the Alaska Department of Law. Townes-Sweatt had been acting as the designated driver for her passengers and had no alcohol or drugs in her system.

At his Friday sentencing, Wyatt apologized to Townes-Sweatt’s family.

“I’ve caused everyone in this courtroom a lot of pain. I particularly want to apologize directly to Citari’s family for taking her away from you,” he said. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to be able to forgive myself for that.”

Townes-Sweatt’s mother, Lanita Sweatt-Sanders, listened to the sentencing over the phone and spoke directly to Wyatt.

“Lane Douglas Wyatt, I want you to know that I sincerely forgive you. I really, really do. What’s more important is that I need you to forgive yourself,” she said.

–Bonney Bowman contributed reporting. 

–This is a developing story. 

Two Palmer men are in custody in connection with a burglary that occurred at an Alaskan fish hatchery last month.

On Nov. 8, Alaska State Troopers were notified that $30,000 worth of steel, aluminum and copper had been stolen from the Eklutna Tailrace fish hatchery. The suspects also caused approximately $30,000 worth of damage by “cutting through walls to access copper wire and other locked portions of the building,” according to an online AST dispatch posted Friday.

According to the Department of Fish and Game, the Eklutna Tailrace is located about 35 miles northeast of Anchorage, near Mile 3.5 of the Old Glenn Highway.

On Friday, both Michael Scott and Corey Jenson were arrested in connection with the burglary and property damage incident. Further investigation revealed that Scott, 35, was also responsible for another burglary earlier this month where $2,000 of personal property was stolen from a vehicle in Glacier View, troopers say.

Jenson, 19, faces charges of first-degree theft, second-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief and tampering with physical evidence. He was taken to Mat-Su Pretrial where he is being held on $100,000 cash/corporate bail with a court-approved third-party custodian.

Scott faces charges of first- and second-degree theft, second-degree burglary, second-degree criminal trespass and tampering with physical evidence. He was also taken to Mat-Su Pretrial where he is being held on $30,000 cash-only bail with a with a court-approved third-party custodian.

“Several other participants have been identified,” troopers say.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anchorage police were called to a shooting in the area of 420 W. Third Ave. early Sunday morning.

Photo courtesy Google Maps

One person was injured in a shooting in downtown Anchorage early Sunday morning.

At about 2:15 a.m., officers were called to a shooting in the area of 420 W. Third Ave., according to a statement from the Anchorage Police Department. The incident occurred near the PlayHouse bar, APD spokeswoman Anita Shell said in an email.

At the scene, officers discovered a male had been shot in the torso. He was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police say.

No suspect information is available at this time, police say, noting that “multiple people” were in the area at the time of the shooting.

Police are encouraging anyone with information on this incident to call APD at 786-8900. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP.

A woman is in custody after she was pulled over Saturday night on the Kenai Spur Highway for driving impaired with children in the vehicle.

At about 9 p.m., the Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol responded to a REDDI report of “an intoxicated motorist with children in the car,” according to an online AST dispatch posted Sunday.

The vehicle was stopped near Mile 8 of the Kenai Spur Highway. Further investigation revealed that the driver, Tammy Lynn Brantley, was operating the van “while impaired and under the influence of alcohol,” the dispatch says. Brantley had three young children in the van with her.

She was arrested for DUI and three counts of endangering the welfare of a children, among other charges, and was taken to Wildwood Pretrial Facility where she was held without bail, pending arraignment.

A home invasion resulted in a standoff between an Alabama man and troopers in Ketchikan early Sunday morning.

At around 4:45 a.m., the Alaska State Troopers in Ketchikan responded to a report of a burglary and assault at a residence near Mile 6 of the South Tongass Highway, according to an online AST dispatch posted Sunday.

Richard Wilson, 32, broke into the unoccupied residence. While he was inside, the homeowner returned to the residence and came across Wilson, who had a firearm, troopers say.

Wilson, still armed, ordered the homeowner to leave the residence and then proceeded to barricade himself inside.

AST units secured a perimeter around the area. An AST crisis negotiator opened a line of communication with the suspect and was able to get him to leave the residence, where he was taken into custody.

Wilson was charged with two counts of first-degree burglary and one count of third-degree assault, troopers say. He was taken to the Ketchikan Correctional Center where bail was set at $10,000 with an approved third-party custodian.