FAIRBANKS — The jury in the murder trial of Nathanial Kangas, 22, began deliberations Friday afternoon on first- and second-degree murder charges after closing arguments in which the prosecution and defense both agreed he gunned down two Alaska State Troopers in Tanana.
Kangas' defense argued he acted instinctively and should be convicted only of manslaughter, a lesser charge.
But District Attorney Gregg Olson argued Kangas' actions leading up to the shooting showed it was a calculated act.
On May 1, 2014, Sgt. Patrick "Scott" Johnson and Trooper Gabe Rich flew to Tanana to arrest Kangas's father, Arvin Kangas, on a misdemeanor assault charge.
But Arvin Kangas resisted arrest and fought with the troopers on the steps of the Tanana house. In the scuffle the three men hit the door and fell into the house.
Nathanial Kangas entered the house at about 2:40 p.m., 28 minutes before the shootings took place. He went into his parents' bedroom, got the rifle, put the magazine in it and encountered his mom about two minutes before the shooting, while his father screamed and argued with the troopers outside.
"That's deliberate, conscious action," Olson said of his decision to get the rifle and shoot the men.
The prosecution said Kangas knew what he was doing when he pulled the trigger seven times in two seconds on a Ruger Mini-14 semiautomatic rifle. Five bullets hit the troopers, but none struck his father, who was also on the floor.
Olson said Kangas fired the shots with accuracy and precision.
"He had to be precise not to shoot his father, his father was underneath the state troopers," he said.
More than 60 people packed the fourth-floor courtroom and listened to the conflicting portrayals of the defendant's actions offered in closing statements.
The defense did not present any testimony in the case, but attorney Greg Parvin said his client did not intend to kill the two troopers and had acted without thinking.
Though Kangas acted recklessly, Parvin argued, he did not have the "conscious objective" of "killing those two good men."
Olson countered that under state law premeditation is not required for a first-degree murder conviction. He said an act may be both impulsive and intentional.
To convict Kangas of first-degree murder, the jury has to find he intended to cause the death of the men and that he caused their deaths. It does not require premeditation or deliberation, the district attorney said, only that he acted intentionally.
The jury will also consider an assault charge against Kangas related to the allegation he pointed the rifle at a Tanana village public safety officer and charges that he tampered with the Glock pistols of the troopers after their deaths.
Arvin Kangas, now serving an 8-year jail term, has already been convicted of moving Johnson's gun from his holster to make it appear the troopers entered the house with guns drawn. His wife testified that he wore gloves as he did this. The elder Kangas was also convicted of assault for threatening the village public safety officer, the incident that led the troopers to attempt his arrest.
The jury of seven men and five women began deliberations shortly after 1 p.m.