Suspect captured in Wasilla

MAT-SU -- A third man accused of viciously stabbing and beating a Kodiak police officer in June was captured at a Wasilla trailer one week ago, and two women have been arrested for allegedly lying to investigators about the fugitive's whereabouts, Alaska State Troopers said.

Richard Heath Bennett, 25, of Kodiak, has been eluding authorities since June 7, after he and 22-year-old Dexter Christensen of Kodiak fled the island, according to troopers.

Christensen was arrested four days later in the Anchorage area, but law enforcement could not locate Bennett. Alaska Fugitive Task Force and Kodiak troopers continued to hunt for him, according to court records.

Another Kodiak man was arrested June 16 and charged with first-degree assault in connection with the incident. Joseph L. Hancock, 22, was taken into custody at Kodiak airport.

The three men were indicted by a Kodiak grand jury in July on charges of attempted murder and assault for the attack on Sgt. Terry Ash.

The Kodiak police officer had become involved in a fight with the three men outside his home, according to court documents. He was repeatedly struck with fists and his own flashlight and then stabbed 13 times, court records stated.

Ash was flown to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage for emergency surgery. His injuries were so severe that Ash lost 20 percent of his blood volume before he was given emergency treatment, court records stated.

Law enforcement officers caught up with Bennett after investigators received an anonymous tip that Bennett was living in Wasilla with Roxanne Samples and Liberty Samples-Nielson, court records stated.

Surveillance was placed on their home near Tamar Road and Brockton Avenue, according to charging documents. Investigators saw two women leaving the residence and followed them. The women were later identified as 23-year-old Samples-Nielson and Djuna Davidson, 21, of Kodiak.

According to charging documents, the confidential informant told investigators the two women were en route to meet Bennett in a trailer belonging to Samples, near Woodruff and Tanis streets.

The trailer was located about 300 yards from the place where investigators stopped the two women. Inside, law enforcement officials found Bennett and arrested him without incident, court documents stated.

Samples was not arrested, troopers said.

Although Bennett gave officers little information after his capture, trooper spokesperson Greg Wilkinson said he did indicate he'd been in the Wasilla area for most of the time he was on the lam.

Bennett was arraigned Wednesday in Palmer Superior Court, then transported back to Kodiak, according to court records.

Both Samples-Nielson and Davidson were each arraigned Wednesday in Palmer District Court on one count of first-degree hindering prosecution.

Davidson was released the following day on $5,000 bail.

Samples-Nielson was being held in lieu of $25,000 bail and a court-approved third-party custodian. On Friday, she was scheduled for a bail hearing.

Both women are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Sept. 27.