FDNM Crime

Cops and crime reporter for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Downs will be sentenced in September.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Steven H. Downs convicted of first-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault in the 1993 death of Sophie Sergie.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Road conditions on the Richardson Hwy between Fairbanks and North Pole are deteriorating. The southbound side of the highway is down to one lane due to a motor vehicle collision. Drivers are advised to use caution.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

A neighbor was able to save the woman’s cat by throwing it out of a window.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

The woman lived alone with her cat.
Neighbors tried to rescue the woman but could not reach her due to heavy smoke and flames.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

No other fatalities or injuries wee reported.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation but neighbors say the woman was a heavy smoker and may have fallen asleep while smoking.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Fairbanks Fire responded at 12:51 p.m. and found the woman deceased in an upstairs room.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

A residential fire claimed the life of a Fairbanks woman this afternoon.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

A Golden Valley Electric Association crew has repaired the damage. The squirrel, however, was beyond repair.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Work at the News-Miner building came to an abrupt halt this afternoon after an unlucky squirrel tripped a fuse on a nearby power pole.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Mark King, 51, was also sentenced to 40 years of suspended time, some or all of which can be imposed should he reoffend after his release.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

A Fairbanks man convicted last year of sexually abusing two teenage girls has been sentenced to serve 50 years in jail.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

By special order of Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Joel Bolger, all new jury trials statewide scheduled to begin the week of March 16 are postponed. Jury trials in progress will finish out as scheduled.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Worman, 56 was a state-licensed foster care provider for nearly two decades until allegations that he was grooming underage males for sexual favors surfaced in 2017, according to trooper investigators.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Thirteen of the counts are for the alleged abuse of a minor who Worman was in a position of authority over. The abuse took place between October 10, 1996 and December 1998 and the victim was 13 years old when it began, according to the indictment.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

A Fairbanks man charged last week with two counts of sexual assault was indicted today on 16 additional counts for incidents dating back to 1996.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Police issued the safety alert at 3:26 p.m. today.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Fairbanks police ask that drivers avoid the eastbound lanes of the Johansen Expressway at Old Steese due to a light pole across the roadway.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Worman was a licensed foster care provider for nearly two decades but has not been one since similar complaints surfaced in 2017, according to charging documents.

[FDNM Crime @FDNMcrime]

Paul Michael Worman is charged with two counts of felony second-degree sexual assault. He was arraigned today in Fairbanks court and is being held at Fairbanks Correctional Center on a $50,000 cash performance bond.