Fairbanks Man Indicted for Murder for Hire Plot

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that Roger Keeling, 54, of Fairbanks has been indicted by a federal grand jury in a superseding indictment for murder for hire. A federal grand jury indicted Keeling last month for Stalking. 

According to court documents, Keeling allegedly strangled his girlfriend in October 2020. Keeling pleaded to a misdemeanor assault charge in state court, and upon release, over the course of several weeks and while on ankle monitoring, violated court orders not to contact her numerous times. Keeling continued to harass and contact the victim by emailing her, following her and leaving notes for her, slashing her vehicle tires, and placing her in fear for her life. Keeling was arrested for stalking her. In January 2021, Keeling allegedly devised and solicited a murder for hire plot targeting her.

If convicted Keeling could face a sentence of up to 10 years for his attempt to arrange a murder for hire in addition to the sentence that may be imposed on the charges previously filed.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alaska State Troopers (AST) conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Doty.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.