A Quinhagak man has been found guilty of second degree murder, multiple counts of assault, and first degree robbery. The incident happened in 2019. The trial took three weeks, and a Bethel jury issued the verdict on March 25.
A statement from the Attorney General’s office says that Frank E. Nelson, age 31, received the convictions after assaulting Jesse Britton, age 53, in Quinhagak in 2019 over a dispute involving $100. Britton died about a month later from his injuries after weeks in critical care. Prosecutors say that Nelson later assaulted three police officers with a shotgun.
Following the verdict, Nelson was taken to the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center in Bethel. He will be held without bail, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for June 27 before Judge Terrence Haas, who could sentence him to as many as 99 years in prison.