Juneau court round-up

Tuesday’s proceedings in Juneau Superior Court included a series of defendants involved in high-profile or notable cases.

Ronald Blue, 39, accused of sexually abusing an emotionally vulnerable eight-year old child nearly three years ago, was sentenced to 40 years in prison with 15 years suspended, or 25 years to serve. He was also ordered to serve 20 years on probation. The sentence, part of an agreement made with prosecutors, includes total time that is above the presumptive range for offenders without an extensive criminal history, but the time-to-serve is near the bottom of the presumptive range.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Williams quoted Sitka Probation Officer William Edland’s presentence report the specified that Blue’s assaults were ‘nothing short of horrifying and evil.”

Blue admitted that the allegations were true and horrific. He apologized to the court and the victim and said that he was “so screwed up in his head that he could not tell right from wrong.”
Both Blue, his attorney, and his mother referred to mental illness that included depression, schizophrenia, and psychosis which plagued him for nearly twenty years. The assaults took place in the home owned by Blue’s mother. She said she was not aware of the assaults and would’ve done everything to get the child out of the house if she had known.

Six charges were dismissed earlier as part of the plea and sentence agreement.

Joseph A. Allen, 30, was arraigned on additional burglary and theft charges stemming from a series of burglaries in the Mendenhall Valley last fall. One instance, according to Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp, included ‘body-slamming’ a woman in her own home. One of the victim’s two children apparently witnessed the assault. Allen is already serving a total of 27 months in prison after he was convicted in two other burglary cases. He’s currently serving his time at Lemon Creek Correction Center. A jury trial for the latest case is scheduled to start on December 10th.

Frank W. Lee, 60, who was indicted this month for sexual assault, was arraigned and ordered held on $100,000 cash bail. Trial was set for early December.

A jury trial for Ryan M. Martin, 23, one of three people accused of starting a fire at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Field in June, has been scheduled for December to coincide with a trial for 18-year old co-defendant Ashley R. Johnston.

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