Two Anchorage men have each been charged with 13 felonies, including kidnapping, robbery, assault and theft, after Alaska State Troopers say they were pulled over in a Wasilla traffic stop Sunday while holding a Big Lake couple hostage at gunpoint.
Troopers say Arthur Gray, 24, and Benjamin Lega, 19, were arrested shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, when a Wasilla police officer pulled over a Ford Explorer with faulty headlights on the Parks Highway, near its intersection with Lucille Street. Lega was riding in the vehicle with the man at the wheel, while Gray was in the back seat with the woman.
“The investigation revealed that Lega and Gray had kidnapped the other two occupants from their residence in Big Lake and were transporting them to Anchorage,” troopers wrote. “One of the victims was handcuffed in the back seat at the time of the vehicle stop while the other victim was driving while being held at gunpoint.”
AST spokesperson Megan Peters says Gray’s gun in the back seat was concealed under a blanket, and the officer didn’t know he and Lega were armed until the driver was ordered to get out of the vehicle.
“And that’s when he said, ‘Oh, just so you know, we’re being kidnapped,’” Peters said.
Lega reportedly tried to give the police officer a fake name -- an attempt that failed when he couldn’t spell it, resulting in an additional misdemeanor charge against him of providing false information to police.
Many details about the incident are being withheld by the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, which was subsequently called in on the case, but Peters says it began with the robbery of the victims’ homes, near Mile 2 of Big Lake Road. Gray and Lega were armed with a revolver and a semi-automatic handgun.
“According to the female victim, Gray and Lega entered her home and held her at gunpoint while they ransacked her home looking for money and drugs,” troopers wrote. “They took prescription medications, two firearms, cash, and marijuana. While the home invasion was taking place, the female's boyfriend showed up. He was subsequently taken at gunpoint to his residence next door where his ATM card, cash, and a TV were taken.”
After taking the boyfriend’s ATM card, troopers say Gray and Lega made the victims drive to three ATMs in the area, unsuccessfully attempting to use the cards until they were able to do so in Wasilla. Peters says neither the man nor the woman were injured during the incident.
Gray and Lega were both charged with two counts apiece of kidnapping, robbery, third-degree assault and burglary, as well as four counts of second-degree theft and one count of first-degree vehicle theft.
Peters says both Gray and Lega are convicted felons on probation. They were remanded at the Mat-Su Pretrial Facility, with Gray held on $500,000 cash bail and a third-party custodian required for release, while Lega was held without bail. Both men were scheduled to be arraigned Monday afternoon in Palmer court.
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