Brothers accused of assaulting, threatening woman

Two brothers face assault charges after allegedly hitting and threatening a Kenai woman during an argument over the weekend.

Bryan E. Bakk, 28, and Cody J. Gochenauer, 20, were arrested early Saturday morning after Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of domestic violence at a Kenai residence.

The woman told troopers that she, Gochenauer and Bakk got into an argument as Bakk moved out of her house that day, according to the troopers’ affidavit filed with the court. 

During the argument, Bakk allegedly hit the woman, held her hands down on a kitchen counter, threatened her with a gun and punched the hood of her car. The woman told troopers that Gochenauer yelled in her face and hit her, according to the affidavit.

Neither of the men were on the scene when troopers responded to the report.

The two were stopped early Saturday morning in a Chevy pickup on the Sterling Highway near Ninilchik. Bakk was driving.

Bakk told troopers he had tried to intervene in an argument between the woman and Gochenauer to prevent his brother from assaulting her, according to the affidavit.

Troopers reported finding a gun in the truck, which Bakk said he brandished at the woman while she was leaving the scene of the argument. Bakk told troopers he remembered slapping the truck’s hood, but didn’t think he had caused any damage. He said he bloodied his knuckles while moving furniture, troopers reported.

Troopers noted signs of intoxication on Bakk, who failed a sobriety test and registered a 0.133 percent breath alcohol concentration, almost double the legal threshold for driving under the influence of 0.08 percent.

After a search, troopers reportedly found a concealed star-shaped knife — or throwing star — on Gochenauer.

Bakk faces faces one count of third-degree assault, a class C felony; one count of driving under the influence of alcohol, a class A misdemeanor; one count of fourth-degree assault, a class A misdemeanor; and third-degree criminal mischief, a class C felony.

Gochenauer was charged with one count of fourth-degree assault, a class A misdemeanor. He was also charged with one count of fifth-degree misconduct involving weapons, a class B misdemeanor.

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