Crime tape kept the public out of the Kangas home during the initial investigation in Tanana
ANCHORAGE — Nathanial Kangas will spend the rest of his life in prison, a judge decided at his sentencing hearing Wednesday. Kangas was convicted of shooting and killing two Alaska State Troopers in the village of Tanana in 2014.
Superior Court Judge Paul Lyle sentenced Kangas to 203 years in prison, without the possibility of parole. Lyle also ordered Kangas to pay a $5,000 fine and $2.6 million in restitution, CBS 13 Fairbanks reports. Kangas was convicted in May of first-degree murder, third-degree assault and tampering with physical evidence.
Arvin Kangas. Photo: Tanana Valley Television
While in prison, Kangas is not allowed to have communication with his father, Lyle added to his sentence. His father, Arvin Kangas, was sentenced to eight years in prison for his part in the deaths of Sgt. Scott Johnson and Gabe Rich.
Rich and Johnson flew to Tanana on May 1, 2014 following a report that Arvin Kangas had pointed a gun at the village public safety officer. When they arrived at the Kangas home to arrest Arvin Kangas, he resisted arrest and a struggle ensued between him, his son and the two troopers.
The younger Kangas shot both troopers in the back during the altercation, court records show. The two Kangas men then took the troopers’ guns and disposed of marijuana plants inside the home.
More troopers later arrived and took both men into custody. Arvin Kangas was convicted in April of 2015 on three counts of tampering with physical evidence and four counts of first-degree hindering prosecution, for which Lyle later sentenced him to serve 10 years in prison with two suspended.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates as they become available.
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