Kalskag Man Arrested for Punching Woman, Shooting Up SUV

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Kalskag man was arrested Tuesday morning after he admitted to punching a woman then firing dozens of pistol rounds into his sport-utility vehicle, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Bethel troopers received a call from a Kalskag woman, who said 26-year-old Michael Hetherington had just been beaten her, shortly before 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. Troopers arrived in Kalskag at 9:30 a.m. to look into the incident.

“Investigation led to the arrest of (Hetherington), who admitted that while he and his female relative were intoxicated at a party, he punched her in the head three times, trying to knock her out so that she would stop behaving in a manner of which he disapproved,” troopers wrote in a Wednesday AST dispatch.

Although Hetherington took the woman home, he told troopers he remained angry about the incident.

“He still needed to ‘blow off steam’ so he got out his .45(-caliber) handgun and shot about fifty rounds into the windows, tires, engine, and body of his SUV,” troopers wrote.

Hetherington has been charged with fourth-degree counts of domestic-violence assault and misconduct involving weapons. He was taken to Bethel to be remanded to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Correctional Center.

Troopers also seized Hetherington’s gun.