Sutton man arrested, charged with arson and murder of family member

One Sutton man is dead and another is in custody following an hours-long stretch that included a discovery of the deceased, a search, and arson at a Glenn Highway-area cabin.

Grant Wells, 21, was arrested on charges of murder, arson, misconduct involving a weapon, tampering with physical evidence and criminal trespass during the early-morning hours Friday.

Wells was identified as a person of interest after Nicholas Wells, 56, was found dead in the Sutton area with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

Grant Wells and Nicholas Wells are "immediate family members," troopers said.

AST responded to the Sutton area just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday for a welfare check and found the elder Wells.

Troopers located the vehicle of Grant Wells at about 12:30 a.m. on Friday near Mile 164 of the Glenn Highway, troopers said. Grant Wells was located in a small cabin after troopers trekked through waist-deep snow. Authorities commanded Wells to leave the cabin, troopers said, and Wells set fire, which engulfed the entire structure.

Troopers said “less-lethal tools” were used during the arrest of Wells.

Wells was remanded to Mat-Su Pretrial. An arraignment scheduled for Friday morning for Wells was continued to Saturday at 11 a.m.

In December of 2022, Wells, then 19, was arrested on charges of second-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree theft, third-degree criminal mischief and first-degree vehicle theft after he assaulted a taxi driver in Anchorage and then stole the cab.

Wells was arrested by Anchorage Police after the taxi he was driving became stuck between APD patrol cars and a snowbank on Muldoon Road, according to Anchorage police.

That case was reopened Friday, according to online court records.

Wells was also arrested on multiple counts of burglary in Sutton in 2023, theft and assault in Akiachak in 2022, and criminal mischief in North Pole in 2022.

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