Two Southeast Alaska men face murder charges in attack that followed Facebook accusations
Mar. 25—Two Southeast Alaska men face numerous charges, including murder, in the death of an 80-year-old Klawock man who was attacked after accusations against him were posted to social media, according to charges filed in the case.
Blaise Dilts, 22, and Moses Blanchard, 21, were arrested Tuesday on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and first-degree burglary in Lincoln Peratrovich's beating death, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Prince of Wales Superior Court.
Alaska State Troopers first responded to the Tlingit village on Prince of Wales Island on Monday after receiving a report that Peratrovich had cat-called a teenage girl and tried to lure her into his trailer, according to a sworn affidavit written by troopers Investigator Adam Hawkins. The girl told the investigator that Peratrovich followed her while holding an ax after she rebuffed the advances, the affidavit said.
In an interview with troopers, Peratrovich said he had been chopping wood outside when he whistled at a woman walking by. "When she turned around, he noticed that she was younger than he thought but continued to talk to her and invite her inside for food," Hawkins wrote. He said he did not follow her, according to the affidavit.
The trooper determined a crime had not been committed and he advised the girl's parents about how to obtain a restraining order.
A Facebook post after the incident described the girl's report and alleged Peratrovich was sexually interested in young girls. Comments on the post encouraged violence against him by community members, according to the affidavit.
Troopers said they were called to Peratrovich's home just after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday to respond to an ongoing assault. The person who called for help reported hearing people yelling before a group of people ran from the trailer, the affidavit said.
Troopers arrived around 3 a.m. and found Peratrovich dead inside the home, the affidavit said.
Klawock, a community of about 800 people on Prince of Wales Island, has been without local law enforcement since January when the police chief died unexpectedly. Troopers are filling in the gap for now and responded to the Klawock call from Craig in patrol vehicles, spokesman Austin McDaniel said.
Troopers determined through interviews that Blanchard, Dilts and a 17-year-old boy broke into Peratrovich's home, according to the affidavit. Another juvenile had been with the group when they broke in, but she remained outside, the affidavit said.
Two other juveniles drove to the scene and the group got into their vehicle and left the area, according to the affidavit.
In an interview, both Dilts and Blanchard told investigators that they beat Peratrovich because of the allegations they had seen in the Facebook post, the affidavit said. One said no when asked if he knew whether the information was true, the affidavit said.
Dilts and Blanchard were being held at the Ketchikan Correctional Center on Friday afternoon.
Adult criminal charges have not been filed against any of the juveniles involved and McDaniel said state law prohibits him from saying whether charges had been forwarded to the Division of Juvenile Justice.
