Anchorage Duo Charged with Federal Felony Civil Rights Violation

ANCHORAGE—United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler and Assistant Attorney General Thomas E. Perez announced that on Dec. 17, 2009, Robert Bruce Gum and Deanna Angelina Scaglione, aka Deanna Powers, residents of Anchorage, Alaska, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Anchorage for threatening, intimidating, and interfering with an Alaska Native man because of his race and national origin while he used the public streets of downtown Anchorage.

The one-count indictment names Gum, age 19, and Scaglione, age 20, as co-defendants.

According to the indictment and information previously filed with the court, Gum and Scaglione, acting together, intimidated and interfered with an Alaska Native man while he was walking on the streets of Anchorage on July 28, 2009, threatening him with the use of force and the use of a dangerous weapon. The defendants, who are alleged to have acted based on the victim’s race and ethnicity, hit the victim with objects and verbally taunted him as he walked on Ninth Avenue, C Street, and Eighth Avenue in downtown Anchorage.

Assistant United States Attorney Retta Randall, who presented the case to the grand jury, indicated that the law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Gum and Powers are currently facing misdemeanor assault charges previously filed by the State of Alaska. The Alaska Department of Law and the United States Attorney’s Office have been working cooperatively together in response to this incident.

The Anchorage Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. The Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section, is assisting in the prosecution of this case.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.