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James Halpin
James Halpin has covered crime and public safety at the Daily News since 2007. Previously, he was an intern at The Associated Press' Anchorage bureau. E-mail Jim at jhalpin@adn.com.
Bank robber gets 12 years after using ID in heist
Assailant sentenced in robbery, stabbing
Driver in crash that killed cab driver was legally drunk
Police cruisers have a tough few days - 2/8/2010 3:19 pm
Bumbling bank robber gets 12 years in prison - 2/8/2010 2:44 pm
Fairbanks businessman guilty of tax evasion - 2/5/2010 6:22 pm
Naknek man shot in face, charged with murder attempt - 2/4/2010 4:46 pm
Two stabbed in early morning robbery attempt - 2/4/2010 2:24 pm
Felon gets 7.5 years for possessing gun during robbery - 2/4/2010 2:14 pm
R&R smugglers intercepted in Kipnuk - 2/3/2010 7:03 pm
Mom and son jailed in major Mat-Su drug bust - 2/3/2010 1:43 pm
Bank robbery suspect caught during Sunday drive - 2/1/2010 3:47 pm
Filipino man arrested in Anchorage for cold-case murder - 2/1/2010 2:03 pm
Muldoon bank robbed, feds seeking suspect - 1/28/2010 3:53 pm
Abandoned package piques police curiosity - 1/28/2010 3:42 pm
Classified-prowling bandit being sought - 1/27/2010 9:34 pm
Troopers seize Valley-grown marijuana - 1/27/2010 1:02 pm
Southeast pot smuggler arrested, troopers say - 1/12/2010 1:01 pm
Heroin ring smuggling to Alaska broken up - 1/7/2010 5:00 pm
Drunken driver crashed, tried to steal another car - 1/7/2010 3:39 pm
Fairbanks man accused of asking son for drugs - 1/7/2010 1:00 pm
Woman faces 10 years on embezzlement charge - 1/5/2010 4:56 pm
Man hospitalized after Fairview stabbing - 1/4/2010 1:28 pm
Soldier accused of shooting apartment wall - 12/30/2009 1:11 pm
Fairbanks poker game ends in gunpoint robbery - 12/30/2009 1:09 pm
FEBRUARY 8, 2010 - 3:19 PM
The past few days have apparently been hard on police cruisers.
A vehicle driven by Rex Wilhelm of Anchorage struck a stopped patrol car on the Glenn Highway near Fort Richardson about 3:40 p.m. Saturday. The officer,Jesse Elmore, had been waiting inside with his emergency lights flashing as another officer was dealing with a vehicle in distress ahead on the highway.
Injuries were minor, and no one required medical attention. Police attributed the wreck to severe weather conditions.
Then this afternoon, a troopers vehicle stopped along the Parks Highway was rear-ended in a collision that injured three and set a vehicle on fire. My colleague Rindi White is covering that wreck from the Valley. Check out her story here.
FEBRUARY 8, 2010 - 2:44 PM
An Anchorage bank robber whose identity was revealed when he showed his own photo ID card to a teller during the heist has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, according to the U.S. attorney.
Jarell Paul Arnold, 34, previously pleaded guilty to one count of credit union robbery.
According to prosecutors, Arnold walked in to the Alaska USA Federal Credit Union on Juneau Street last August and gave his real name and account number to the teller as he inquired about his balance. He showed his picture ID.
After the teller told Arnold his account was empty, he handed over a receipt with a note scribbled on the back. “I have a gun. Give me all the money in your drawer,” it said. The FBI said Arnold stuffed about $600 in his jacket and took off.
FEBRUARY 5, 2010 - 6:22 PM
A Fairbanks businessman accused of dodging federal income taxes for eight years has been convicted on one count of felony evasion of payment of income tax, the U.S. attorney said Friday.
Roger Lee Shoffstall, 59, was convicted after a five-day jury trial of failing to pay about $133,000 in taxes, interest and penalties from 1996 to 2003, prosecutors said.
Shoffstall owns Summit Telephone and Telegraph Company of Alaska, which provides rural telephone service north of Fairbanks.
Shoffstall is facing a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the tax evasion charge at his sentencing set for April 16.
FEBRUARY 4, 2010 - 4:46 PM
A man accused of teaming up with several others to attack another during an alcohol-fueled dispute in South Naknek got shot in the face by the victim and is now facing charges of attempted murder and felony assault, according to the Bristol Bay Borough Police Department.
David P. Alto Jr., 27, was arrested Tuesday after a grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault, according to court records.
Bristol Bay police say Alto and several others were drinking the night of Jan. 22 when they got into a dispute with the victim, Fred Wassillie, and began severely beating him. It was not immediately clear what the dispute was about.
FEBRUARY 4, 2010 - 2:24 PM
Police are looking for a man who stabbed two people during a robbery in Spenard this week.
The victims, Christopher Fette and Nicole Schultz, told police they were near the Alano Club in the 3100 block of Spenard Road about 12:20 a.m. Tuesday when a short, heavyset man approached them asking for money.
Fette told the robber he had none, but the robber became more demanding and ultimately stabbed Fette in the stomach, police said. Fette began fighting with the attacker and was stabbed once more in the upper torso, police said.
Schultz then stepped between the men and got stabbed in the torso herself, police said.
FEBRUARY 4, 2010 - 2:14 PM
A convicted felon was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison for pulling a gun on two men during a robbery in downtown Anchorage. Here's a press release the U.S. attorney sent out today.
Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffer announced that on February 2, 2010, Zachery Ryan Carey, a resident of Anchorage, Alaska, was sentenced in federal court in Anchorage to 90 months in federal prison for his conviction of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The firearm was possessed in connection with an armed robbery of two men in downtown Anchorage.
United States District Court Judge John W. Sedwick imposed the sentence on Carey, age 28.
FEBRUARY 3, 2010 - 7:03 PM
State troopers intercepted a big delivery of R&R whiskey on its way into Kipnuk early this morning.
They confiscated 33 750 mL bottles of the booze after Kipnuk public safety officers found them in the possession of Kipnuk residents Everett White, 24, and Galen Amik, 21, as the pair arrived in town aboard a snowmachine, troopers said.
Kipnuk is a local-option village that banned the sale and importation of alcohol in 1982.
White and Amik were charged with felony alcohol importation because of the large amount of booze, troopers said.
They were booked in Bethel and were being held without bail pending their arraignment tomorrow.
FEBRUARY 3, 2010 - 1:43 PM
Mat-Su narcotics investigators say they've broken up a mom-and-son commercial marijuana growing operation after finding garbage sacks full of weed inside a Wasilla home.
Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement investigators arrested Wasilla resident Jane C. Cain, 51, and her son, Palmer resident Katsuhige C. Lewis, 29, on drug charges after discovering 20 pounds of freshly cut marijuana stuffed into garbage bags.
Investigators who arrived about 7:50 p.m. Tuesday to search the home off Church Road in Wasilla found Cain and Lewis inside trying to dismantle the grow, troopers said.
FEBRUARY 1, 2010 - 3:47 PM
Authorities have arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with a South Anchorage bank robbery last month.
Jeremy Uldrich is being held at the Anchorage jail after his arrest Sunday about 4:10 p.m., police said.
Police say the vehicle Uldrich was driving, a black Toyota 4Runner, appeared to have been involved in the robbery of the Credit Union 1 at 8935 Old Seward Highway on Jan. 23.
Patrol officer Kevin Armstrong spotted the vehicle Sunday and pulled Uldrich over at 94th Avenue and the Old Seward. Armstrong noted Uldrich bore a “striking resemblance” to the robber and delivered him to the custody of the FBI, police said.
FEBRUARY 1, 2010 - 2:03 PM
An Anchorage man wanted in a 15-year-old murder in the Phillipines has been arrested and is awaiting extradition, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Armando Olde Y Balangatan, a Philippine-born naturalized United States citizen, was arrested Thursday at Stevens Anchorage International Airport after the Alaska Fugitive Task Force learned he was living in Anchorage, authorities said.
Olde was wanted as a suspect murder of Renato Arle, who was killed in the Philippines in 1995, the Marshals service said. Details on the slaying weren’t immediately available.
At the time of his arrest, Olde was living in Anchorage and working on a merchant ship docked at the island of Diego Garcia, Marshals said.
JANUARY 28, 2010 - 3:53 PM
Bank robber
Authorities are looking for a man who held up a Wells Fargo bank in Muldoon this morning.
The FBI says the Frontier Branch at 7731 E. Northern Lights Boulevard was held up about 10:45 a.m.
The robber, a man, walked into the bank and verbally demanded money from a teller, Special Agent in charge of Alaska Kevin Fryslie said in a statement. It wasn't clear if he was armed.
The man, who was wearing a ski mask, took an undisclosed amount of cash, left on foot and got into a white sedan, possibly a Chevrolet Impala.
JANUARY 28, 2010 - 3:42 PM
Someone left a pricey package in the hall of a Muldoon apartment building, and police want to know whose it is.
Police say Anchorage resident Sheina Hurn reported the package was abandoned on Jan. 21, and police discovered it contained a large quantity of crystal methamphetamine.
How large? They won't say because of the investigation. But Lt. Dave Parker told me it was "laaarge."
He says it appears the package was shipped here from out of state, and the Special Assignment Unit is trying to figure out who sent it.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call police at 786-8900.
JANUARY 27, 2010 - 9:34 PM
Matt Sims
Police are trying to catch a suspect in a series of classified ad rip-offs they've been working.
Detective Jackie Conn says Matt Sims, 38, is accused of advertising cars on the cheap on Craigslist or in newspapers. When a victim calls wanting to buy it, Sims claims to not have the title but asks for money to hold it until the title is ready. That's about the last time the buyer sees Sims, Conn said.
The detective also says Sims has been known to sell vehicles with the wrong license plate or title and to lie about the vehicle history.
JANUARY 27, 2010 - 1:02 PM
Alaska State Troopers have seized about 50 marijuana plants from a commercial growing operation in Palmer.
Investigators with the Mat-Su drug unit and Palmer police searched the home of William J. Provo III, 32, about 2 p.m. on Monday. They found and seized 49 plants, processed marijuana, scales and growing equipment, troopers said.
Provo was arrested on four counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.
He was booked at Mat-Su Pretrial facility with his bail set at $5,000.
— Anchorage Daily News
JANUARY 12, 2010 - 1:01 PM
Authorities have intercepted 40 pounds of processed marijuana bound for Prince of Wales Island that was hidden aboard an Alaska Marine Highway ferry, Alaska State Troopers said Tuesday.
Troopers say investigators boarded the vessel as it arrived in Ketchikan from Bellingham, Wash. on Sunday about 11:45 a.m. following an investigation into drug smuggling.
The suspect, Jeffrey Music, 49, of Craig, was aboard the vessel with his vehicle, troopers said. A drug-sniffing dog detected the odor or drugs coming from Music’s vehicle and investigators got a search warrant for it, troopers said.
JANUARY 7, 2010 - 5:00 PM
Authorities say they have broken up a drug trafficking ring that was smuggling heroin into Alaska.
The Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement says it learned in late 2009 that a source in Colorado was shipping large quantities of heroin to Alaska.
The source of the dope was traced back to Max Ezra Foltz Jr., 49, who was arrested in his Colorado home Wednesday. Troopers working with the Drug Enforcement Administration and local police in Colorado also arrested Stephen M. Foltz, 25, who was at the home at the time of the search.
Both men are facing drug possession and distribution charges.
JANUARY 7, 2010 - 3:39 PM
An alleged drunken driver who crashed his vehicle tried to rob another motorist’s ride before being arrested early Thursday, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Wasilla resident Jeffrie T. Lucore, 35, was booked into the Mat-Su Pretrial facility on charges of second-degree robbery, fourth-degree assault and driving under the influence, troopers said.
Troopers say they were called to the area of Big Lake Road and Susitna Parkway about 2 a.m. in response to an attempted vehicle theft.
The investigation revealed Lucore had been driving under the influence south on Big Lake Road when he ran off the road near Mile 6, troopers said.
JANUARY 7, 2010 - 1:00 PM
FAIRBANKS (AP) — A Fairbanks man accused of trying to persuade his 14-year-old son to give him prescription painkillers has been charged with a felony drug charge.
If convicted, 36-year-old Randall L. McCoy could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the boy's mother and stepfather recorded phone conversations between McCoy and his children because of concern for their safety. McCoy has previously been convicted of obtaining prescription drugs by misrepresentation.
The parents told the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement in June t
JANUARY 5, 2010 - 4:56 PM
A bookkeeper accused of embezzling $75,000 from an Anchorage health care provider has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of theft from a health care benefit program, according to documents filed in court Tuesday.
Cheri Ray is facing up to 10 years in prison in connection with the thefts from Alaska Kidney Consultants, which took place while she worked there as a bookkeeper from March 2003 to August 2006, according to prosecutors.
According to plea documents filed in court, Ray used a number of methods to steal from the business.
Prosecutors say she got a credit card in her name but billed to AKC, paid herself in unearned overtime and paid personal bills with electronic transfers from the business on Providence Drive.
JANUARY 4, 2010 - 1:28 PM
A man was stabbed multiple times after he was reportedly beaten in Fairview early this morning, according to Anchorage police.
Police met Kenneth Paniptchuk, 22, at an emergency room about 2:20 a.m., when they found him suffering from multiple severe cuts and stab wounds across his body. The injuries were initially reported as being potentially life-threatening, but after getting treatment Paniptchuk is expected to survive, police said.
Police say Paniptchuck’s family had taken him to the hospital after he was beaten. Paniptchuck told police only that he was attacked somewhere in Fairview. He was unable to give police a detailed description of his attacker and offered no apparent motive for the attack, police said.
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