Sunday, January 01, 2006

 

In Alaska?

I always think of Alaska as a peaceful, serene place. Who would have thought all of this could happen in one year?

Shane Harapat was sentenced to five years in prison for manslaughter. A jury three months earlier had found the former Palmer High School rifle team member guilty of manslaughter for shooting his friend, Kenneth Alcantra, 16, with a .44-caliber Magnum Ruger Redhawk revolver on Feb. 5, 2003 as the two sat in Harapat's bedroom in Palmer. Harapat was 16 years old when the shooting occurred, and he was tried as an adult.

Suzette Welton, a former day-care worker serving 99 years in prison for killing one son and trying to kill another in a Nov. 15, 2000 house fire she set in hopes of collecting $200,000 in life insurance after their deaths, filed a petition for post-conviction relief in Palmer Superior Court.

Alaska State Troopers arrested former Republican state legislator Beverly Masek for driving under the influence with a suspended license as she drove under the speed limit near Mile 58 Parks Hwy and drifted over the center line several times at 1:34 a.m. April 28.

Kathleen Colbert, of Talkeetna, shot and killed her husband, Gary Colbert, at home June 3 after an evening of drinking and fighting, according to troopers. When Kathleen Colbert tried to call 911 to report her husband had assaulted her, he took the phone away, and Kathleen then retrieved a handgun from their bedroom and fired one round at Gary, striking him in the head and causing his death.

Christopher Kevan was charged with strangling his girlfriend, Brandie Burns, 26, and their 7-week-old son, Ashton, in their home on Oct. 26. Kevan, 24, was arraigned on two counts of first-degree murder.

~~ from the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

posted by Anne 1/01/2006 04:34:00 PM