John Etuckmelra, 28, arrested Friday on two outstanding warrants. He eluded arrest during a previous attempt Sept. 3. AST also charged his sister Deanna Etuckmelra with hindering prosecution.
KDLG: State troopers in Dillingham arrested a Manokotak man who had been listed as a fugitive since the beginning of the month.
John Etuckmelra, 28, was wanted on a bootlegging charge and for failing to remand to serve a jail sentence. When a trooper went to pick him up on September 3, AST said he slipped out the back of the house and ran off. There is currently no law enforcement living in Manokotak.
AST Bristol Bay supervisor Sgt. Luis Nieves said they need the assistance of the public and the community to hold people accountable.
“In the case of Etuckmelra, he was an individual who went into fugitive status ... his family, in particular his sister Deanna, was made very much aware of his fugitive status and her civic obligation to let us know.”
Which troopers allege she did not do. On Friday morning AST and the roving VPSO flew back to Manokotak and found John Etuckmelra hiding behind a washing machine in his mother’s house.
“When we take someone into custody, it’s with the understanding that we’re not just removing this person from the community for the sake of protecting the community, but it’s also to protect that individual. When you decide that you’re going to hide that individual, you’re hindering prosecution.”
Deanna Etuckmelra, 30, was charged with first degree hindering prosecution, a class C felony.
Both were taken to Dillingham for remand and arraignment.
dave@kdlg.org 0r 907-842-5281