The Alaska state trooper who fatally shot a man during a Friday standoff in Big Lake is a 17-year veteran of the Department of Public Safety, troopers said Monday.
A brief online dispatch said Lt. James Helgoe, a member of the troopers' Special Emergency Reaction Team, shot 35-year-old Jean R. Valescot.
Troopers said in an online dispatch last week that Valescot had made threats starting around 3:30 p.m. Thursday that he would kill anyone who came to his home, prompting an hours-long standoff. Valescot's girlfriend escaped the residence but he remained inside with his 3-year-old son.
According to the trooper account, Helgoe fired at about 12:20 a.m. Friday, when Valescot walked to the front door with his son while carrying a firearm in each hand.
Valescot died at the scene. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.