Revenge attacker indicted

6-28-2007 Alaska:

A Kodiak man accused of erupting in an alcohol-fueled revenge attack in the early morning hours of June 16 was indicted for assault in the case, but a Kodiak grand jury refused to indict him on attempted murder charges.

The grand jury indicted Darryl Wayne Squartsoff, 38, on two felony assault counts for a attacking Thomas Alpiak, 45, with a knife.

In a closed-court proceeding conducted by assistant district attorney Stephen Wallace on June 21, the grand jury indicted Squartsoff on one count of first-degree assault and one count of second-degree assault. The grand jury rejected an attempted murder charge brought by the state. Wallace was not available to comment on the case this morning.

Kodiak District Attorney Michael Gray said Squartsoff has one prior felony conviction from a similar assault in 1999. Squartsoff would receive a sentence up to 14 years if convicted, Gray said. Both Alpiak and the prior assault victim are uncles to Squartsoff, Gray said.

On the morning of the knife attack, Alaska State Troopers and Kodiak police officers were called to a trailer on Spruce Cape Road after one man fled the trailer and flagged down a passing taxicab driver to call for help.

A trooper and one KPD officer entered the trailer to find Squartsoff holding a knife to Alpiak’s neck. Alpiak was holding still and officers could not immediately tell if he was alive, according to the complaint filed by trooper Brian Mitchell after Squartsoff’s arrest.

Alpiak told investigators he was trying not to be injured further and had been sitting on the floor with a knife to his neck for almost 30 minutes, according to Mitchell’s felony complaint.

Mitchell wrote that Squartsoff confessed twice — once at the scene and later at the Kodiak Jail — claiming he was sexually assaulted by Alpiak 30 years ago. Squartsoff asked for an attorney during the jailhouse interview with Mitchell.

Mitchell wrote in the complaint that he stopped asking questions after Squartsoff requested an attorney, but Squartsoff continued talking, asking if Alpiak was dead and saying he finally “got him.”

Squartsoff would have been 8 years old at the time of the sexual assault. Alpiak would have been 15.

Alpiak is a registered sex offender, but was never convicted of sexual assault, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety sex offender database. The database cites one conviction under Alpiak’s name, for second-degree attempted sexual abuse of a minor in 1997.

Squartsoff is being held at Kodiak Jail. His bail was set Saturday at $75,000 cash and he must have a third-party custodian to be set free. ..more.. by SCOTT CHRISTIANSEN