An assault on the Fourth of July led to an indictment for charges of first- and second-degree assault for a Juneau man this week.
A Juneau grand jury indicted Ernest K. Joseph, 48, after he allegedly hit and strangled a friend of his. The District Attorney’s Office is also pursuing fourth-degree assault charges for threatening a police officer, according to charging documents. The grand jury’s two assault charges were in reference to the victim, not an officer.
Juneau Police Department Officer Hannah Malone wrote in her report that a caller reported to JPD at about 5:29 p.m. July 4 that a man had hit a woman at the woman’s residence in the Switzer Village Mobile Home Park.
Malone wrote that she was the first officer to arrive, and found a man, later identified as Joseph, who was yelling and holding a long metal rod that was about three and a half feet long. When Malone arrived, Joseph raised the rod at her and began yelling that the victim, identified in charging documents as S.T., was refusing to give him his rifle, Malone wrote.
Despite Malone pointing her Taser at him, Ernest kept making what she called “menacing gestures” and stepping toward her. Eventually, according to charging documents, Ernest was Tased and put in handcuffs.
S.T. told police that she and Joseph were longtime friends but had never dated or lived together, according to charging documents. She said Joseph had shown up intoxicated at her house and that when she answered the door, Joseph had hit her in the face so hard that it knocked her over, Malone wrote in her report.
The victim also told police that Joseph had then strangled her as she was on the ground, and Malone wrote that there were fresh bruises on the victim’s neck consistent with finger imprints.
Joseph said to Malone that he didn’t want to go back to jail, Malone wrote in her report. According to electronic court records, Joseph has multiple misdemeanor convictions over the years, including one this year for falsely implicating someone to police. He performed 30 hours of community service for that conviction, according to electronic court documents.
• Jenna Leigh Blanton, 31, was indicted for one charge of second-degree robbery stemming from an incident on May 2. Second-degree robbery is a class B felony.
• Robert M. Vidic, 60, was indicted for one charge of felony driving under the influence, stemming from an incident on March 30. A felony DUI is a class C felony.
• Brian T. Miller, 45, was indicted for one charge of third-degree weapons misconduct in reference to manufacturing, possessing, transporting, selling or transferring a shotgun with a barrel length of less than 18 inches.
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at 523-2271 or amccarthy@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @akmccarthy.
