Following a grand jury indictment in October, two Alaska State Troopers now charged with felony first-degree assault were arraigned at the Kenai Courthouse on Thursday and for the second time submitted not guilty pleas.
Both Joseph Miller Jr., 49, and Jason Woodruff, 42, are accused of assaulting Ben Tikka, 37, whom they approached while trying to arrest his cousin early on May 24, according to a complaint by the state attorney general filed in the Third Judicial District at Kenai on Aug. 14.
The complaint says that the two troopers, while trying to arrest Tikka’s cousin, allowed a police dog to repeatedly bite Tikka and kicked him in the head and other parts of the body. The complaint says Tikka was hospitalized with several broken bones, lacerations and open wounds.
The complaint cites both audio and body camera footage taken by Miller and by a Kenai police officer also present during the encounter.
Originally, the two charges were misdemeanors, rather than felonies. John Skidmore, deputy attorney general for the criminal division of the State Department of Law, said during an August press conference that the classification of a felony would require “one of two elements,” either the use of a dangerous instrument or serious physical injury. The state doesn’t believe, he said, that either was present, even though Tikka was hospitalized.
A Kenai grand jury on Oct. 30 returned an indictment for both troopers with a single count each of felony first-degree assault. The indictment reads that both Woodruff and Miller “recklessly caused physical injury to Ben Tikka by means of a dangerous instrument.” The instrument is not defined in the indictment.
When the indictment was published, the cases of both troopers were reassigned to Kenai Superior Court and Superior Judge Lance Joanis. On Nov. 4, Joanis, as well as Superior Court judges Kelly Lawson and Jason Gist, recused themselves from the case.
They write in a joint recusal that the two defendants have been professionally engaged in “the Kenai legal community” for a long time, that their charges relate specifically to their work in law enforcement, and that there remain “many” pending criminal cases with the two troopers involved and in which they are expected to serve as witnesses.
They ask, in the recusal, for the case to be assigned to a judge outside of Kenai. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Thomas Matthews has been assigned the case and participated Thursday by telephone.
An arraignment, Matthews said, is an opportunity to inform a defendant of their legal rights, ensure they understand the charges against them, take a plea and set further court dates.
The felony assault charges, Matthews said, carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000.
Woodruff and Miller appeared in the courtroom with their respective attorneys, Clinton Campion and Matthew Widmer. Both submitted not guilty pleas.
A previous motion filed by Campion to dismiss Woodruff’s case, state prosecutor Daniel Shorey said, is moot, from the state’s perspective, because the new charge is rooted in the grand jury indictment rather than the existing complaint. Matthews said that Campion could notice the court within seven days if he wanted to see further action on the motion.
A new pretrial conference date was set for 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, though Campion said a proposed trial date of Jan. 6 would “absolutely not” work. Matthews asked the attorneys to come prepared to the December conference with a “realistic trial date.”
Discussion by Matthews about moving some hearings to Anchorage, where the judge and attorneys are based, was short lived.
“From the state’s perspective, this matter should remain in the appropriate venue, which is the Kenai Superior Court,” Shorey said.
Shorey said that the state doesn’t request any modification to the release conditions for both troopers, who have been released on their own recognizance. Darryl Thompson, an attorney for Tikka, repeated previous asks for imposition of bail, citing $41,000 in medical expenses, 300 stitches, and a list of injuries borne by his client.
“Both of these defendants have currently demonstrated, thus far since these charges were originally filed, they are not a flight risk and neither has posed a risk to the defendant,” Matthews said. “I’m going to leave bail as currently set. Each will be released on their own recognizance.”
Both Woodruff and Miller are next scheduled to appear at the Dec. 11 pre-trial conference.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
From left: Joseph Miller Jr. and Jason Woodruff, Alaska State Troopers charged with felony first-degree assault, appear with their lawyers, Clinton Campion and Matthew Widmer, for an arraignment at the Kenai Courthouse in Kenai, Alaska, on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
