Arson is suspected in a late-night car fire on Ballyhoo Road.
A pickup truck parked outside the Pacific Stevedoring bunkhouses burst into flames just after midnight Thursday. The fire didn’t spread to any buildings and no injuries were reported. But the vehicle was completely destroyed.
Still, public safety director Jamie Sunderland says the truck yielded some clues.
"We have some evidence that points strongly to arson, in that there was a burning wick hanging out of the gas tank," Sunderland says.
A pirate fishing vessel intercepted by the Coast Guard in August has been cut up. Captain Phillip Thorne is the head of enforcement for Alaska. He says the Chinese government has disposed of the 177-foot Da Cheng.
“They sold the vessel for scrap, and the vessel was destroyed. The government sold the vessel for scrap. They were not able to prosecute the crew under Chinese law. But they seized the catch and they sold the catch for auction and the proceeds went to the government.”
Criminal charges were dropped Tuesday against the man who went on a cross-town graffiti spree in April. Christopher Hadsell, 23, stood accused of spray-painting the Russian Orthodox Church, Kloosterboer cold storage facility and Highliner property. In lieu of criminal penalties, Hadsell paid $500 in restitution to the Church of the Holy Ascension, and wrote letters of apology to all three organizations.
The rash of harassing phone calls that Unalaska women have reported over the last month appears to have ended. The last reported call was received last Tuesday, bringing the total number of victims to six.
Sgt. Jennifer Shockley says no arrests have been made in connection with the obscene calls, although multiple victims identified the same possible suspect. Shockley says an officer visited the man last week, but he denied any knowledge of the incidents. Without further evidence, Shockley says it’s not possible to pursue charges at this time.
Police are investigating a string of harassing phone calls made to Unalaska women over the last week. At least four women have reported receiving the calls, which appear to be targeted. The calls were made from a private number, and the caller asked for the women by name before saying sexually explicit and vulgar things.
A report of a sexually explicit text message also sent last week is being treated as a separate incident. Sergeant Bill Simms says Public Safety doesn’t currently believe the calls and message are related.
A 31-year-old man has received a lengthy prison sentence for raping a woman in False Pass, wrapping up a four-year legal saga that involved two jury trials.
The attack occurred in 2008, while Jason Downard was working as a commercial fisherman. He was initially charged with sexual assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree, and attempted sexual assault. The woman sustained multiple injuries, and there was evidence she had been strangled.
A recent episode of the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch could be used as evidence in a criminal case. The crew of the F/V Northwestern is under investigation by the state and they may have unintentionally ratted themselves out on camera.
A 24-year-old man was arrested last week for allegedly burglarizing a local business in September.
Ioane Faasavalu, of Unalaska, is accused of stealing property belonging to Aleutian Propane. The theft occurred while the business owner was out of town, and the items stolen included a car jack, a compressed air tank, wrenches, sockets, and ratchets. The value of the stolen goods is estimated at $750, and so far only the car jack has been recovered.
A Washington man crashed his vehicle on Saturday morning after allegedly driving drunk.
Gennadiy Davlikaev, 47, lost control of his pickup truck while traveling along Captains Bay Road shortly after 6am. His Ford F350 hit the rock face, and sustained approximately $2,000 worth of damage. Davlikaev suffered minor lacerations to his hands, but his passenger was unharmed. No other vehicles were involved in the accident.
