ANCHORAGE, Alaska — James Koenig, the father of slain barista Samantha Koenig, was arrested early Tuesday morning on charges including assault and DUI after he allegedly left an Anchorage strip club and drove drunk, threatening an employee who tried to stop him.
APD spokesperson Lt. Dave Parker says Koenig faces charges of third-degree assault -- a felony -- as well as fourth-degree misconduct involving weapons, DUI and refusal to take a breath test.
According to Parker and charging documents (PDF), Koenig and Terry Reeves -- the father of murdered Senior Airman Clinton Reeves -- were leaving the Great Alaska Bush Co. at 631 E. International Airport Rd. at about 2:20 a.m. Tuesday when doorman Robert Amrine noticed that Koenig was intoxicated as he got into a pickup truck with Reeves to drive away, then tried to stop him.
"When Amrine told the man that he would call him a cab, the man said, 'Get back from my door or meet my 1911,'" prosecutors wrote. The number was an apparent reference to the 1911 family of .45-caliber pistols, based on the Colt M1911 but currently made by several manufacturers. "The man then reached into the truck's center console. Amrine was afraid he would be shot and stepped back."
James Koenig Arrested on Assault, DUI Charges
Other Bush Co. employees identified Koenig to Amrine, who informed APD about the confrontation at about 3 a.m. Police then tracked Koenig down at his residence, where he said he and Reeves had been drinking at the Bush Co. He denied threatening Amrine with a weapon and invited officers to search his vehicle, where they found a Ruger 1911-style pistol in the center console.
Koenig’s pickup truck -- a black 2012 Ford F150 XLT Harley-Davidson Edition -- was impounded due to the DUI.
No charges were filed against Terry Reeves, who said Tuesday that he had no comment on the incident.
Both Koenig and Reeves have been visited by tragedy this spring, with a search for 18-year-old Samantha Koenig after her Feb. 1 abduction resulting in the discovery of her body last month in Matanuska Lake near Wasilla. A shorter-lived search for Clinton Reeves that began in late April, when his rented 2012 Dodge Avenger was found abandoned, ended last week with the identification of a body found in Eagle River as his.
After Samantha Koenig's death, James Koenig offered his assistance to Reeves' parents when they flew to Anchorage to help search for their son.
James Koenig was arraigned Tuesday afternoon and posted $4,000 bail, including $2,000 appearance bond and a $2,000 cash performance bond. The performance bond is meant to ensure Koenig fulfills conditions of release, which bar him from returning to the Bush Co., drinking alcohol or using drugs, or visiting bars or liquor stores while the case is pending.
Koenig refused to comment on the case Tuesday evening.
Editor's note: Some details of the incident have been clarified from charging documents in the case.
