The trial for a Tanana man charged with murder in the fatal shootings of two Alaska State Troopers is underway.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that opening arguments in Nathanial Kangas’ trial began Monday. Kangas is accused of killing Sgt. Scott Johnson and Trooper Gabe Rich in May 2014 while they were attempting to arrest his father for threatening a village public safety officer.
Kangas’ attorney argued before jurors that his client wasn’t guilty of premeditated murder, saying the killings were committed out of impulse. But District Attorney Greggory Olson said Kangas should be found guilty of the crimes he has been charged with, which include first- and second-degree murder.
Kangas’ father is serving an eight-year prison sentence for manipulating the troopers’ bodies and guns after they were killed.
