Manslaughter

The Jacob Brouch manslaughter trial is in the hands of the jury, after attorneys gave closing arguments in the case Wednesday. Brouch faces charges of manslaughter and fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon after his best friend Michael McCloskey shot himself while playing Russian roulette. The shooting happened after the two, who were soldiers at the time, spent almost 24 hours drinking heavily in March 2011. McCloskey shot himself in the stomach with a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver, and the prosecution says Brouch is partially responsible for his friend's death.

A jury has found an Anchorage man guilty of manslaughter for causing a crash on the Seward Highway that killed one person and severely injured another. Prosecutors say Thomas Lorah was drunk and out of control when he slammed head-on into another car in 2009. Annette Knofel was killed in the crash, and her husband Bruce Knofel was seriously injured. Lorah was also convicted of DUI and assault, but the jury couldn't reach a decision on a second-degree murder charge. It will be up to the prosecution to decide whether to pursue the murder charge in another trial.

Two suspects in a Muldoon home-invasion robbery last month that left two men dead are facing charges including manslaughter, according to Anchorage police. APD spokesperson Marlene Lammers says Brian Pfister, 19, and Ursula Pico, 21, were indicted by a grand jury Thursday for manslaughter, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery and burglary. Pico was also indicted for evidence tampering, after allegedly attempting to hide the group's getaway car. Maurice T.R. Johnson and Joseph Trantham, both 19, were killed in the early hours of Nov. 10 on the 700 block of Muldoon Road, when 55-year-old Larry James said they entered his house armed, hit him in the face and led him to a bedroom to open a safe.

Jacob Brouch was acquitted of manslaughter by a jury Thursday in the death of his friend during a drunken game of Russian roulette last year, closing an emotional trial that hinged on themes of personal responsibility. The verdict, which also acquitted Brouch of criminally negligent homicide but found him guilty of fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon, came slightly more than a day after the jury began deliberating. Brouch had been drinking for hours with Michael McCloskey on March 6, 2011, as the two men posed for photos of gunplay, when McCloskey asked him for a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver and one bullet.

by Megan Baldino Monday, February 01, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An Anchorage father says he is relieved after a jury found his daughter not guilty of manslaughter for a fatal car wreck on the Seward Highway in July of 2008. Josh Jennett called the charges against his daughter, Danielle, ridiculous. It was relief in an Anchorage courtroom Monday afternoon. Danielle Jennett was acquitted of manslaughter in the July 2008 Seward Highway fatal accident that killed her passenger Riley McVitty and the driver of an oncoming pick-up truck, Jeffrey McClure.

A jury has found Philip Floor guilty of manslaughter and evidence tampering in the 2010 beating death of 23-year-old Harvey “Charley” Albright, after more than a day of deliberations. He was found not guilty of second-degree murder. Floor, 25, along with two other defendants -- Kenneth Upton and Carl Leedom -- were initially charged in the case in September 2010. Leedom faces additional charges including first-degree murder and several counts of misconduct involving controlled substances.

Alaska State Troopers say 29-year-old Jessica Olanna of Brevig Mission has been arrested and charged with manslaughter in the stabbing death of Andrew Tocktoo early Tuesday morning. The stabbing was reported at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Olanna will be arraigned in Nome court Wednesday.  

by The Associated Press Monday, February 01, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A 27-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the beating death of his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter, and has been sentenced to 16 years in prison. Alaska State Troopers say Shaka Levshakoff entered his plea in Anchorage Superior Court on Monday. He was charged in the June 24, 2007, death of Anne Marie Nimmo of Whittier. Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters says Levshakoff pleaded guilty to manslaughter and interference to official proceedings.

by Channel 2 News staff Friday, March 12, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An Anchorage man has been indicted on murder and manslaughter charges for the death of a cab driver. Lawrence Brewer, 39, was indicted on charges of vehicular homicide for the Jan. 30 death of Dale Pokarney. Brewer is charged with one count of murder in the second degree and one count of manslaughter. The indictment also alleges that Brewer acted with extreme indifference when he killed Pokarney while driving under the influence.

An Aniak man faces manslaughter and DUI charges in the death of a 15-year-old boy during a Thursday night snowmachine crash, according to Alaska State Troopers. A Friday AST dispatch says 26-year-old Philip Simeon told troopers in Aniak just before 9:45 p.m. about the crash, which occurred near the west end of the runway at the Aniak State Airport. An Alaska Wildlife Trooper and members of the Aniak Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the scene. “Investigation revealed that Simeon had been driving a snowmachine across a ditch with open water,” troopers wrote.

A man convicted in the 2010 beating death of his friend faced a judge Wednesday to hear his fate. Philip Floor, 25, was sentenced to 11 years in prison with three years suspended in the death of 23-year-old Harvey “Charley” Albright. Prosecutors say Floor and two other men -- Kenneth Upton and Carl Leedom -- beat and pistol-whipped Albright after they claimed he stole a backpack full of cash, then dumped his body at a riverbank near Palmer. Floor was found guilty of manslaughter in April in the case, but not guilty of second-degree murder.

Jacob Brouch was acquitted of manslaughter by a jury Thursday in the death of his friend during a drunken game of Russian roulette last year, closing an emotional trial that hinged on themes of personal responsibility. The verdict, which also acquitted Brouch of criminally negligent homicide but found him guilty of fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon, came slightly more than a day after the jury began deliberating. Brouch had been drinking for hours with Michael McCloskey on March 6, 2011, as the two men posed for photos of gunplay, when McCloskey asked him for a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver and one bullet.

The Jacob Brouch manslaughter trial is in the hands of the jury, after attorneys gave closing arguments in the case Wednesday. Brouch faces charges of manslaughter and fourth-degree misconduct involving a weapon after his best friend Michael McCloskey shot himself while playing Russian roulette. The shooting happened after the two, who were soldiers at the time, spent almost 24 hours drinking heavily in March 2011. McCloskey shot himself in the stomach with a Ruger Redhawk .44 Magnum revolver, and the prosecution says Brouch is partially responsible for his friend's death.

Jurors in the Jacob Brouch manslaughter trial Monday got to watch a three-hour videotaped interview between Brouch and police detective Milton Jakeway. Brouch was charged with manslaughter after his best friend Michael McCloskey died after shooting himself in the stomach on March 6, 2011. Police say the pair had been playing a drunken game of Russian roulette the night McCloskey died. Jakeway told Brouch that the evidence and his story didn't add up, and that it seemed more likely that McCloseky died while trying to stop Brouch from pulling the trigger on himself.

A jury has found Philip Floor guilty of manslaughter and evidence tampering in the 2010 beating death of 23-year-old Harvey “Charley” Albright, after more than a day of deliberations. He was found not guilty of second-degree murder. Floor, 25, along with two other defendants -- Kenneth Upton and Carl Leedom -- were initially charged in the case in September 2010. Leedom faces additional charges including first-degree murder and several counts of misconduct involving controlled substances.

A Barrow couple has been indicted by a grand jury on charges including manslaughter in last month's death of a 3-year-old girl, one of two girls who were trapped overnight in a bedroom with a window open to temperatures of 30 degrees below zero. North Slope Borough police say Richard Tilden Jr. and Esther Edwards-Gust, both 28, are charged with criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter and second-degree assault. Tilden also faces charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter, and first-degree assault.

Sean Warner, the man accused of injecting two teenage girls with heroin in December, was arraigned on charges including manslaughter in an Anchorage court Thursday afternoon. One of the girls, 14-year-old Jena Dolstad, later died from the   injection she received. Warner was formally charged with manslaughter, first-degree and second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, and tampering with physical evidence. He walked into court wearing prison yellow jumpsuits, shackled to two other prisoners.