Man arrested in double homicide

MAT-SU — Anchorage police said the man they believe shot and killed a Wasilla teen and his associate has turned himself in.

James Coven, 22, was jailed Saturday in Anchorage on two counts of murder, tampering with physical evidence and attempted fourth-degree drug misconduct.

He is accused of shooting Matthew Nick Peterson, 19, of Wasilla, and Christon Shannon Lee, 19, of Anchorage in the 1600 block of Russian Jack Drive on Wednesday.

Since the shooting, condolences have continued to trickle into Peterson’s myspace page.

“Damn Rest In Peace bro :(” one read.

“Rip little dude. I don’t even know what to say,” read another.

Peterson listed his alma maters as Wasilla High School and Burchell High School and joked that his areas of study including “skating” and “hustling.”

Court records show Peterson has a criminal history. Most of his cases involved drunken driving, underage drinking, or both.

But in November 2007 he was charged with armed robbery, criminal mischief and assault. Troopers at the time alleged he and an accomplice, Jeremy Kosbruk, tried to break into an apartment to rob the marijuana growers inside.

Peterson eventually pleaded guilty to a single count of criminal mischief and was sentenced on Nov. 11, 2008 to 360 days in jail, which was about what he’d already served.

As for Coven, court records show he was convicted in 2008 of failure to stop at the direction of a police officer and, in both 2008 and 2005, of assault. The rest of his criminal history seems to involve relatively minor crimes. Court records show he is next due in court tomorrow.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.