An inmate at Wildwood Pretrial was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault for attacking two corrections officers Monday, Alaska State Troopers said Tuesday.
According to an affidavit by Trooper Ryan Tennis, included in the charging documents, they were notified at around 1 p.m. Monday of an assault “involving two corrections officers and an inmate,” identified as 29-year-old Homer resident Grant Phillip Lee Arseneau.
The affidavit says that at 10 a.m., the facility “goes into lockdown,” at which point “inmates are required to be inside their cell.” When officers checked rooms, Arseneau was not inside. He was found on the second floor of the facility, where a corrections officer told him to return to his room.
Arseneau did not respond, but proceeded downstairs, the affidavit says. When the officer told Arseneau to “submit to wrist restraints,” Arseneau “got into a postured stance as if he was ready to fight.”
The officer attempted to handcuff Arseneau, but the affidavit says Arseneau shoved the man and then began attempting to punch another officer who had arrived to help.
The affidavit says that Arseneau made attempts to punch both officers but did not connect with any strikes besides the first shove. He was restrained after “several” officers arrived.
Arseneau told Tennis that he fought with the officers “because he did not feel the wrist restraints were necessary and he felt disrespected,” according to the affidavit.
Arseneau was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault, one for the alleged crime of recklessly causing physical injury to another person and the other for the alleged crime of recklessly placing another person in fear of imminent physical injury by words or other conduct.
These charges are in addition to seven charges he faces in a separate and ongoing 2023 case. According to another affidavit by Homer Police Department Patrol Officer Charles Lee, Arseneau was arrested July 30 after a 911 call reported screams for help on a Homer trail.
Investigation found that Arseneau had attacked another man on the trail, the affidavit says, after Arseneau believed the man had insulted him.
“The defendant indicated he did this because he has a short fuse,” the affidavit reads.
Following an indictment by a grand jury in August and an amendment to the charging document that same month, Arseneau faces seven charges for crimes connected to that alleged assault. These include two charges of first-degree robbery, a charge of second-degree assault, two charges of third-degree assault, one charge of fourth-degree assault and a charge of fourth-degree theft.
In the 2023 case, Arseneau’s next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 12 in Homer, followed by a trial week scheduled for March 12. Other than an arraignment scheduled for Tuesday morning, Arseneau had no dates set for the more recent case at the time of publication.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
