Anchorage man charged with multiple firearms crimes

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging an Anchorage man with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Court documents allege that on Sept. 7, 2023, Christopher Nickalaskey, 32, possessed multiple firearms and ammunition.

According to court documents and a press release from the Anchorage Police Department, on Oct. 1, 2023, Nickalaskey possessed a firearm during an encounter with police. The release alleges Nickalaskey was contacted by police and began to fight officers. During the altercation, Nickalaskey allegedly reached for a gun in his waistband and pulled the trigger, striking himself and an officer in the lower body.

At the time of both alleged events, Nickalaskey was a convicted felon. Nickalaskey was convicted of a drug crime in the Anchorage Superior Court in 2014 and of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in 2021.

Nickalaskey is charged with two counts of felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. The defendant will make his initial court appearance on a later date before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska, Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Vorndran of the FBI Anchorage Field Office and Chief Michael Kerle of the Anchorage Police Department made the announcement.

The FBI Anchorage Field Office and Anchorage Police Department are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Ivers is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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