A Juneau man was arraigned Friday for a felony weapons charge, plus two misdemeanors after throwing a rock at his wife’s car at their house in the Lemon Creek area.
The 35-year-old man faces a charge of third-degree weapons misconduct for having a gun while also having a previous felony conviction. He’s set to go in front of a grand jury next Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Bailey Woolfstead said in court Friday.
Assistant Public Defender Frank Singh III read part of the police report in court. The defendant’s wife (who also has a previous felony conviction, Singh said) found a handgun in the house, according to the police report. Two days later, the man allegedly was threatening to harm his wife and she began to drive away, Singh read from the police report. As the car was driving away, the defendant threw a rock and hit the car, according to the report. The car was damaged, Singh said, but he did not mention whether the wife was injured.
The incident led to a fourth-degree assault charge and a criminal mischief charge, both of which are misdemeanors. Woolfstead said this wasn’t an isolated incident, as the accused has a history of violating domestic violence protective orders. His previous felony charge is a vehicular assault in 2009 in Washington, Woolfstead said in court. The defendant was in custody Friday, and Juneau District Court Judge Kirsten Swanson set bail at $2,500.
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Indictments filed this week
• A Juneau grand jury indicted Brian Hogan, 35, for one count of third-degree weapons misconduct. The indictment alleges that Hogan, who has a felony conviction, knowingly lived in a home where there was a gun. That’s a class C felony. In 2016, Hogan pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, when he was convicted of setting his girlfriend on fire in July 2015. He was sentenced to three years in prison in May 2016.
• Matthew Smith, 49, was indicted on five counts of second-degree drug misconduct, one count of third-degree drug misconduct and one count of weapons misconduct. The indictment alleges that Smith was dealing marijuana to four people who were younger than 19 on Dec. 18, 2018. The weapons charge is for Smith having a gun while breaking the law. Third-degree drug misconduct (for keeping or distributing drugs at home) is a class C felony, while the other charges are class B felonies.
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• John L. Kobbe, 56, was indicted for first-degree vehicle theft. The theft happened on Dec. 28, 2018, the indictment states, and it’s a class C felony.
• A 33-year-old man was indicted on two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The charges stem from him engaging in sexual acts with someone who was under 12 years old in January 2017 and in October 2018. The man was the victim’s natural parent, stepparent, adopted parent or legal guardian, according to the indictment. The charges are class U felonies.
• A Sitka grand jury indicted Tia M. Brown, 30, on one charge of tampering with physical evidence, a class C felony.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
