Details emerge of alleged kidnapping, assault

Two Kenai residents and an Anchorage resident were arrested Monday on charges of sexual assault, assault, kidnapping and drug and weapon charges.

Kenai police officers arrested Kami Wright, 28, and Kenny Kitchen, 25, both of Kenai, and Alex Hawkins, 31, of Anchorage, on Monday after investigating claims that they had held a man against his will and assaulted him.

A man turned up at a neighbor’s home in the Strawberry Road neighborhood Monday evening, naked and claiming that he’d been held against his will and beaten by a man with brass knuckles who had come down from Anchorage to deal drugs. He added that his girlfriend, who was still inside a house down the street, was in danger. After the neighbor called the Kenai Police Department, officers went out to investigate, according to an affidavit filed in court by Kenai Police Department Lieutenant Ben Langham.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Upon arriving at the house, police found five people, including Wright, Hawkins and Kitchen. A search of the house turned up an illegal sawed-off shotgun, a pistol, several rifles and a black stun gun-style cattle prod, according to the affidavit. When the officer asked Wright about the man being assaulted with brass knuckles, she denied any knowledge of it.

The man’s girlfriend, who was still at the home, became “visibly shaken” when the officer asked her how badly her boyfriend had been beaten and said Hawkins had hit him in the face about eight times with the brass knuckles, ordered him to take off his clothes, hit him in the head with a gun, attacked him with the cattle prod and conducted a forcible body cavity search for drugs.

“(The woman) stated Hawkins pointed the gun at (the man’s) head multiple times and told him to shut up or he would blow his jaw off,” the affidavit states.

She also stated that Kitchen forcibly conducted a body cavity search on her twice, on instructions from Hawkins. After the search, the woman said they were both taken to the house, at which point the man fled and Hawkins instructed the woman to write a letter saying she was not being held against her will as a way to avoid kidnapping charges, according to the affidavit.

She added Hawkins had come down from Anchorage to deal drugs and that there was heroin in the house. A later investigation led to police seizing more than 2.5 grams of heroin and methamphetamines as well as two scales, according to the affidavit. A stolen gun was also found in Wright’s bedroom, according to the affidavit.

At the police station, Wright said the man and woman were in a tent behind the house and had been stealing items from the house and she, Hawkins and Kitchen went out to confront them about it, according to the affidavit. An argument ensued, at which point Wright said she walked away.

“Wright stated that she walked away because she couldn’t watch what was happening but was powerless to stop it,” the affidavit states.

When police later interviewed Hawkins, he said when the group went out to the campsite, the man spoke to them from inside the tent and said they didn’t steal anything.

“Hawkins stated that (the man) then became defensive and came out of the tent with brass knuckles,” the affidavit states.

Hawkins said he punched the man twice with bare fists in self-defense and denied hitting him with brass knuckles, a handgun or the cattle prod. He said he told the two to remove their clothes because they were stolen — everything the man was wearing belonged to Hawkins and the woman’s pants were stolen, which was why the man was completely naked, Hawkins claimed, according to the affidavit. He also said he had the man perform the cavity search for drugs on himself.

He said they went back to the house to have the man clean up a bedroom he had been staying in, at which point the man escaped out a window, though Hawkins said he didn’t know why. He said he did instruct the woman to write the note saying she wasn’t being held against her will, and said he had handled the brass knuckles, gun and cattle prod over the past several days, according to the affidavit.

Hawkins is facing one count of kidnapping for ransom, an unclassified felony; two counts of assault in the third degree, a class C felony; and one count of sexual assault in the first degree, an unclassified felony.

Wright is facing one count of kidnapping for ransom, an unclassified felony; two counts of assault in the third degree, a class C felony; one count of misconduct involving weapons in the second degree, a class B felony; one count of misconduct involving weapons in the third degree, a class C felony; three counts of misconduct involving controlled substances, a class B felony; and theft in the second degree, a class C felony. She also has an open case from Aug. 22 in which she allegedly stole a vehicle, according to Courtview.

Kitchen is charged with two counts of sexual assault in the first degree, kidnapping and assault in the third degree, according to Courtview. He also has two open cases, one from July 31 related to stealing a car and setting it on fire in Kenai and another dating from April related to trespassing, property damage, resisting arrest and refusing to leave premises.

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Member Tom Tougas, far right, speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Tourism Industry Working Group in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tourism working group rejects bed tax, recommends seasonal sales tax adjustment

The document includes a section that says the borough could alternatively leave its tax structure exactly as it is.

The rescued sea otter pup looks at the camera in this undated picture, provided by the Alaska SeaLife Center. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)
Stranded otter pup rescued from Homer beach

She is estimated to be around 2 months old and was found alone by concerned beach walkers.

Kenai Peninsula College Director Cheryl Siemers speaks to graduates during the 55th commencement ceremony at Kachemak Bay Campus on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Kenai Peninsula College leadership sees temporary transitions

KPC Director Cheryl Siemers is serving as interim UAA chancellor, while former KBC director Reid Brewer fills in her role.

Ash-Lee Waddell (center) of Homer is one of six recipients of the 2025 First Lady’s Volunteer Award at the Governor’s Residence in Juneau, Alaska, on May 13, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor
First lady honors Alaska volunteers

Volunteers from Homer and Nikiski were recognized.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Middle schooler reported missing found after 24-hour search

The student was seen leaving Kenai Middle School at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Oceania Riviera stands out against a bluebird sky at the Homer Harbor on Wednesday, May 7, 2025. Over 1200 passengers from aboard the boat explored Homer throughout the beautiful day. (Chloe Pleznac/Homer News)
Homer tourism season kicks off with arrival of cruise ships

The first cruise ship of the season arrived April 28 with 930 passengers.

tease
‘Tomorrow — remember you are still a learner’

Kachemak Bay Campus graduated 49 students during its 55th annual commencement hosted on May 7.

Mt. Redoubt rises above Cook Inlet and the Anchor River drainage as fireweed is in bloom, as seen from Diamond Ridge Road on Friday, July 22, 2022, near Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Native plants provide lifeline for local songbirds

Shorebird Festival talk highlights importance of native plants.

Sterling Elementary School students collect trash from the banks of the Kenai River near Bing’s Landing in Sterling, Alaska, during the 10th Annual Kenai River Spring Cleanup on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Cleaning up the mess that’s left behind

Students from six local schools combed for litter during the 10th Annual Kenai River Spring Cleanup.

Most Read