An Alaska State Trooper has been arrested on multiple counts of domestic violence, the department said in a press briefing Monday.
Garret Willis, 40, is alleged to have committed domestic violence on separate occasions in 2018, 2019, 2020 and this year while off duty.
Colonel Bryan Barlow, the director of the troopers, said during the briefing that the Wasilla and Kenai police departments investigated the allegations.
“They completed a thorough investigation, and during the course of that investigation additional instances of domestic violence were identified … all occurring in the Mat-Su Valley and in Kenai against two additional victims,” he said.
Generally, when the troopers investigate one of their own employees, the case is handed over to the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Barlow said. Since the Wasilla and Kenai police departments investigated the allegations, though, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation was not involved.
Barlow said he could not divulge Willis’ relationship to the victims to protect their identities.
Willis is charged with two counts of assault in the second degree, three charges of assault in the third degree and three charges of assault in the fourth degree. He has been a trooper since 2003, but has been on leave since last Wednesday.
Barlow said anyone with more information about the case or potential victims is encouraged to contact the troopers at 907-352-5401.
Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.
