A 59-year-old man convicted of moving the bodies of Alaska State Troopers Gabe Rich and Sgt. Scott Johnson after they were allegedly shot by his son has been sentenced.
On Thursday, Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle sentenced Arvin Kangas to 10 years in prison with two suspended for three counts of tampering with physical evidence and four counts of first-degree hindering prosecution. Kangas was convicted in April.
Kangas’ son, Nathanial, reportedly shot the two troopers with a semi-automatic rifle during an altercation at the Kangas home. Rich and Johnson were attempting to arrest the elder Kangas for pointing a firearm at the local village public safety officer the day before.
Afterwards, both men moved the bodies of the two men, as well as their guns, prosecutors argued.
“Hearing Arvin testify, and hear him refer to my husband as a dead dog, was dehumanizing, and reveals his character, especially after he knowingly desecrated Scott’s body,” said Johnson’s wife, Brandy, at the first sentencing hearing. “I would like to walk away from this, but the matter is that Scott’s murder is my sentence for the rest of my life. Scott’s murder is the sentence for the rest of our children’s lives.”
Kangas’ son is scheduled to go to trial in November for the deaths of both men.
