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Vol. 50, Issue 80
In the news
Police find remains inside vacant apartment FAIRBANKS — Human remains were found inside a vacant apartment by Fairbanks police officers searching for a missing person. Officers on Sunday night searched for a person reported missing last week, the department said in a press released. Officers drove to an apartment complex in an east Fairbanks neighborhood and were given consent to search an empty apartment. They found a body inside. The body could not immediately be identified. The remains were to be sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage for identification.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020 • Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
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5-year sentence for threatening judge By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
A Kenai man has been given a fiveyear prison sentence for threatening to kill the family of an Alaska Superior Court Judge in 2017, according to a Jan. 14 press release from the Department of Justice. Steven Bachmeier, 43, of Kenai, was sentenced on Friday, Jan. 10 by
U.S. District Judge Sharon L. Gleason to serve five years in federal prison — the maximum sentence allowed by statute — followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant’s sentencing guideline range was 41 to 51 months of imprisonment. After a three-day trial, Bachmeier was convicted by a federal jury in January of 2019 of one count of mailing a threatening communication,
according to the press release. The charges stem from a hearing in May 2010 during which a judge denied Bachmeier’s request to withdraw a guilty plea in a felony criminal case. At the time, Bachmeier responded by threatening to “carve the flesh” from the judge’s children, and Bachmeier was sentenced to eight years in prison for the charges to which he had originally pleaded
guilty. Then in January of 2017, the same judge was assigned to a civil case involving Bachmeier, who attempted to have his name legally changed. Bachmeier was angry that the same judge had been assigned to preside over the name-change request, according to the press release, and See threat, Page A3
Dems release new documents Legislator: on eve of impeachment trial Time for LGBTQ protection By Peter Segall Juneau Empire
Derelict Alaska tugboat comes loose, floats through harbor JUNEAU — A derelict Alaska tugboat floated away from the spot where it was anchored in Juneau’s Gastineau Channel before eventually running aground, officials said. The tug Lumberman traveled several hundred yards from the Juneau docks before coming to rest near the Juneau Yacht Club Saturday, The Juneau Empire reported. Dave Borg, City and Borough of Juneau Docks and Harbors harbormaster, says he received a report around 5 p.m. that the boat was off Norway Point, where the yacht club is located. “Looks like she’s aground now,” Borg said Sunday. The tugboat may have dragged its anchor before eventually coming to a halt, the U.S. Coast Guard said. “There were a couple anchors with her,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Blake Fleming. “Not sure if she’s still dragging those along with her or what happened.” Boat owners in nearby harbors were notified as Juneau officials and the Alaska Marine Exchange monitored the Lumberman. Juneau Docks and Harbors will continue to assess the situation and consult with the Coast Guard, Borg said.
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J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, joined at left by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., meets with reporters Tuesday at the Capitol as the House prepares to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate.
By Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker Associagted Press
WASHINGTON — House Democrats have released a trove of documents they obtained from Lev Parnas, a close associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, including a handwritten note that mentions asking Ukraine’s president to investigate “the Biden case.” The documents, obtained as part of the impeachment investigation, show Parnas communicating with Giuliani and another attorney before the removal of Marie Yovanovitch, who was the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. A man named Robert F. Hyde disparaged Yovanovitch in messages to Parnas and gave him updates on her location and cellphone use, raising questions about possible surveillance. Democrats released the files Tuesday as they prepared to send articles of impeachment to the Senate for Trump’s trial. The documents add new context to their charges that Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate Democrats as he withheld military aid.
Parnas was in frequent communication with Giuliani and with Ukrainian officials, the messages show. He appeared to be pushing unsubstantiated allegations that Democrat Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, were somehow engaged in corruption in Ukraine. Among the documents is a screenshot of a previously undisclosed letter from Giuliani to Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelenskiy dated May 10, 2019, which was before Zelenskiy took office. In the letter, Giuliani requests a meeting with Zelenskiy “as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent.” One of the documents is a handwritten note on stationery from the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Vienna that says “get Zalensky to Annonce that the Biden case will be Investigated.” Trump asked Zelenskiy in a July call to investigate his political rival, Democrat Joe Biden, and his son Hunter. Hunter Biden served on the board of a gas company based in Ukraine. Democrats said that Parnas’ attorney confirmed that Parnas wrote the notes. The documents — including
phone records, texts and flash drives turned over by Parnas — were sent to the House Judiciary Committee by three other House panels “to be included as part of the official record that will be transmitted to the Senate along with the Articles of Impeachment,” according to a statement. Some of the materials were made public while others were marked as sensitive. Parnas and his business partner, Igor Fruman, both U.S. citizens who emigrated from the former Soviet bloc, were indicted last year on charges of conspiracy, making false statements and falsification of records. Prosecutors allege they made outsize campaign donations to Republican causes after receiving millions of dollars originating from Russia. In several of the documents, Parnas communicated with Giuliani and another attorney, Victoria Toensing, about the removal of Yovanovitch. The ambassador’s ouster, ordered by Trump, was at the center of the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry. Yovanovitch testified in the House impeachment hearings See impeach, Page A11
Council to vote on emergency equipment By Brian Mazurek Peninsula Clarion
Kenai City Council will be voting tonight on whether to approve a bulk purchase of breathing equipment for local fire departments. Resolution 2020-02, if adopted, would authorize the joint purchase of 171 new self-contained breathing apparatuses (SCBAs) for the Kenai Fire Department, Nikiski Fire Department and Central Emergency Services. This would replace all of the SCBA packs already in use, according to a memo from Kenai
City Fire Chief Jeff Tucker and Public Works Director Scott Curtin. The total cost of replacing the SCBA packs is $1,094,000, at a cost of $6,400 per pack. On Aug. 27, the City of Kenai was awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant to cover the majority of the cost of the SCBA packs, with local agencies responsible for the rest. The grant covers $994,909.09 of the $1,094,000 in federal dollars, which comes through the Department of Homeland Security and is administered by FEMA, leaving a cost of $99,490.91 for the local agencies to cover.
Of the locally covered costs, Kenai Fire will spend $12,218.19 for 21 packs, Nikiski Fire will spend $18,618.19 for 32 packs and Central Emergency Services will spend $68,654.53 for 118 packs, according to the resolution. That comes out to a cost of about $581.82 per pack for local agencies. The non-federal funds were appropriated by the Kenai City Council on Oct. 16, 2019 through Ordinance 3090-2019. The packs will be purchased from Scott Branded SCBA Equipment through Municipal Emergency Services.
Following an attack on a Sterling woman allegedly for her sexuality, three state lawmakers are proposing legislation that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to Alaska’s hate crime laws. Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, said he is sponsoring the bill after hearing reports of the attack on Tammie Willis in her home on Dec. 9. “So far, without any effort,” Josephson said Monday, “I have one Democrat and one Republican co-sponsor.” Fairbanks Democrat Grier Hopkins and Kenai Republican Gary Knopp have offered to support the bill. Knopp represents Soldotna, whose police force is investigating the crime. Staff for both Hopkins and Knopp said those representatives were not currently available to comment. But even with initial bipartisan support, Josephson said he’s not confident the bill will pass. “I don’t know how my colleagues will react to the bill, people fall prey to the assorted problems with hate crime legislation,” Josephson said. “People think it turns the government into the Thought Police, which it doesn’t do. You can think whatever you want, it’s when you act on those thoughts.” Josephson said that a person’s intent has always factored into the law. “The criminal code for centuries has taken into account ‘mens rea,’” Josephson said, using a Latin term for criminal intent. “That’s why we have manslaughter and murder in the first degree, both of which result in a homicide.” Under the proposed legislation, the state would have to prove a crime was committed because of bias against LGBTQ people, just like with other hate crimes. The burden of proof in those cases is on the state, Josephson said, meaning a defendant would not have to prove a lack of bias. Alaska currently has laws for crimes based on “race, sex, color, creed, physical or mental disability, ancestry, or national origin,” according to state statute. At least 46 states and Washington, D.C., have some form of hate crime law, according to the Department of Justice. Alaska has hate crime laws but does not require the collection of data on hate crimes, according to DOJ. According to a list compiled by the NAACP, 31 states have hate crime laws protections for sexual orientation and 17 for gender identity. Willis, who lives with her wife in Sterling, was assaulted in her home during a power outage on the morning of Dec. 9, the Peninsula Clarion reported. In the weeks leading up to the assault, Willis found a note containing homophobic slurs left on her truck and then a week later found the vehicle’s windshield smashed. An assailant has not been identified, and Soldotna police and Alaska State Troopers are currently investigating the incidents, KTUU reported. Willis See protect, Page A3