An Emmonak village public safety officer charged with improperly holding three men at gunpoint last week allegedly threatened to "blow them away" as he investigated the theft of cigarettes from a local business.
Jay Levan, 68, faces four counts in the incident, which occurred April 14 in the community of about 830 people at the mouth of the Yukon River.
In a Wednesday criminal complaint against Levan, trooper Sgt. Nicholas Zito said the assault occurred at an abandoned tank farm in Emmonak.
An Emmonak-based trooper, William Connors, was informed of the incident by one of the victims on April 15. Zito arrived in Emmonak later that day, but Levan had made an "unauthorized departure" from his duties in Emmonak and boarded a flight for Anchorage.
According to Connors, Levan had been investigating the theft of cigarettes and other goods during an April 13 break-in at the local gas station. Levan had found some of the cigarettes in the rafters of an abandoned building at the old tank farm, a common partying spot for locals. Connors said Levan called him late during the night of April 14 to report he was at the tank farm with three suspects.
In interviews with Connors, the men said they visited the tank farm during a four-wheeler trip. They were preparing to leave when Levan arrived on his own four-wheeler, wearing his VPSO uniform; he allegedly brought a 12-gauge shotgun with him, which he aimed at them.
"When they got on their knees, Levan told them not to get up or he would 'blow them away,' " Zito wrote. "Levan swore at them and took photos of their faces."
When another trooper spoke with Levan later in Anchorage, he said he had been conducting a stakeout of the tank farm during his investigation of the gas station burglary. At the time, he was carrying a personally owned Mossberg shotgun, which was empty but had five rounds in the weapon's "side saddle" shell holder.
"Levan stated once he had the subjects out, he contacted Trooper Connors, who informed him to identify the subjects and release them," Zito wrote. "Levan said it 'could be possible' that he pointed [the shotgun] at them and that he cycled the shotgun but 'he did not know.'"
Images on a digital camera found in Levan's VPSO office showed the three men "on their knees with their hands on top of their heads." In one of the images, one of the men ?"appears to be crying," Zito wrote.
After receiving permission from Levan to enter his home, troopers seized and examined his shotgun, which did have five shells in its "side saddle" as Levan described -- but was also partially loaded.
Levan was arrested on three counts of third-degree assault and one count of official misconduct. His case is being prosecuted by the state Office of Special Prosecutions.