Felony Defense Investigations in Alaska

01Sentencing exposure

Class A, B and C Felonies Under AS 12.55.125

As of the 2025 Alaska Statutes, AS 12.55.125 sets maximum definite terms of 20 years for a class A felony, 10 years for a class B felony and five years for a class C felony. For a first-felony class C offender the statute generally sets a presumptive range of zero to two years, which is why early facts can change the outcome dramatically, as they often do in a felony DUI. Maximum fines under AS 12.55.035 run to $250,000, $100,000 and $50,000. Our Alaska investigations team scopes each file against that exposure.

Presumptive ranges, aggravators and mitigators make the facts of an offense matter twice: once at trial, and again at sentencing. A defense investigator can find the context that supports a mitigator, such as a witness who saw provocation or records showing the client's role was minor. We gather that material with the same care as trial evidence, often reaching family and employers through our Wasilla investigators. Counsel deciding how to use it can review how we fit into a defense team on our services for attorneys page.

02Charges

Felony Charges With Fact-Heavy Elements

Several Alaska felonies turn on an element that only investigation can test. First-degree stalking under AS 11.41.260 is a class C felony that adds an aggravator, such as a protective order violation, a deadly weapon or a victim under 16, to the second-degree offense. First-degree custodial interference under AS 11.41.320 is class C when a child is taken out of Alaska or kept outside it. Our stalking investigation methods help counsel test both the course of conduct and the aggravator.

Property and fraud felonies are just as record-driven. First-degree vehicle theft under AS 11.46.360 is a class C felony and expressly covers aircraft and watercraft, which matters in a state of skiffs, seiners and small planes. Insurance fraud under AS 21.36.360 is a class B felony at $10,000 or more and class C from $500 up. First-degree criminal impersonation under AS 11.46.565 is class B. For those files we trace ownership, permission and money, using the same techniques as our Alaska corporate investigations.

• Stalking in the first degree, class C
• Custodial interference in the first degree, class C
• Vehicle theft in the first degree, including aircraft and watercraft, class C
• Insurance fraud of $10,000 or more, class B
• Criminal impersonation in the first degree, class B

03Case path

From Preliminary Hearing to a Superior Court Jury

Felony cases in Alaska typically begin in the district court, which holds first appearances and preliminary hearings, and magistrate judges preside over many of those hearings in smaller communities. If the case proceeds, it is tried in the superior court, the state's trial court of general jurisdiction, with 45 judges statewide. Appeals in criminal cases go to the four-judge Court of Appeals. In Anchorage, trials are held at the Nesbett Courthouse, and our Anchorage investigators work from the discovery that arrives there.

The preliminary hearing is often the first chance to lock a State witness into a version of events. We help counsel prepare by interviewing available witnesses, visiting the scene and checking the timeline before the hearing date. Alaska Criminal Rule 45 generally requires trial within 120 days of service of the charging document, subject to exclusions, so the defense cannot afford a slow start. Background research on State witnesses is usually one of the first tasks counsel assigns.

04Alaska logistics

Witnesses Spread Across Road, River and Air Routes

A felony in Alaska can involve a scene in one community, witnesses in three others and records held in Anchorage or Juneau. Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Bethel, Nome, Utqiagvik and Dillingham are all off the road system, and many villages are reached only by small aircraft from a hub, with weather that can hold flights for days. We plan travel around those realities and quote it in writing before anyone books a seat. Our investigators covering Utqiagvik plan every trip that way.

Distance also affects how witnesses are found. Rotational workers on the North Slope, fishing crews and seasonal staff may be in Alaska only part of the year. We use lawful public records and open-source research to locate them and confirm contact details, then let counsel decide whether to interview in person, by phone or under subpoena. Our Alaska skip tracing team handles the locate work, and the interviewer carries the case knowledge into the conversation. Crash-related felonies add hit-and-run witness tracing to the plan.

05Evidence

Alibi Testing, Records and Scene Documentation

An alibi is only as strong as the records behind it. We collect receipts, flight manifests the client can lawfully obtain, fuel purchases, employer time records and the client's own phone data, and we test each against the others. A gap or inconsistency found by the defense investigator early is far better than one found by the prosecutor at trial. Where a timeline crosses the Hawaii-Aleutian Time line west of 169°30′W, we convert every timestamp to one zone. Our investigative consulting sessions help counsel decide which records to request formally.

Scenes in Alaska change with the season. Snow cover, river ice and daylight can make a December scene unrecognizable by June. We photograph and measure locations as close to the incident conditions as possible, note sight lines and lighting, and log every image. If the State's witness claims to have seen something from a window or a road, we document what that vantage point actually shows using lawful scene surveillance from public places.

06Other forums

Federal Charges and Tribal Jurisdiction Questions

Some Alaska felonies are federal. The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska keeps staffed offices in Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau, and its Ketchikan office closed in October 2021. Federal cases bring their own discovery practice and sentencing guidelines, but the investigative fundamentals do not change: find the witnesses, test the timeline, document the scene. Counsel defending a federal case in the Interior can work with our Fairbanks investigators.

Alaska is a Public Law 280 state, and tribes in Alaska have inherent authority to exercise certain criminal jurisdiction concurrent with the state over tribal citizens, according to a February 2026 GAO report. Metlakatla also exercises its own jurisdiction over offenses by Indians on the Annette Islands Reserve. These questions are for counsel. We document locations, the agencies involved and the records counsel requests, and we follow each community's rules for access. In Southeast, our Ketchikan investigators handle travel to nearby communities.

07Trial and cost

Jury Selection, Local Licensing and Pricing

Under AS 09.20.010, an Alaska juror must be a U.S. citizen, an Alaska resident, at least 18, of sound mind and able to read or speak English. In a small superior court venue, prospective jurors may know the victim, the officers or the defendant's family. Lawful public-record research on the jury panel helps counsel prepare questions. Alaska has no statewide private investigator license, but Anchorage, Fairbanks and Kodiak license private detectives locally, and we confirm local requirements before field work there.

Felony defense investigations are billed at $100 per hour with a $1,000 minimum for a single felony and $1,500 when multiple charges are filed. Travel to communities off the road system is quoted separately in writing, and nothing is billed beyond the written scope without counsel's approval. Appointed teams from the Public Defender Agency or the Office of Public Advocacy can read about our appointed counsel support, and every rate is listed on our Alaska service pricing page.

Services

Felony defense investigation services in Alaska

• State witness researchLawful public-record research on the State's witnesses, including prior statements, lawsuits and convictions, completed before the preliminary hearing whenever counsel requests it.Learn more
• Defense witness interviewsWitnesses identified, located and interviewed in the order counsel sets, with dated memos written for impeachment, refreshing recollection or trial testimony.Learn more
• Alibi verificationReceipts, employer records, fuel purchases and the client's phone data tested against each other so counsel knows the alibi's strengths and gaps early.Learn more
• Scene documentationPhotographs, measurements and sight-line studies taken in conditions close to the incident, with lighting, snow and ice recorded alongside every image.Learn more
• Fraud and money tracingDocuments, accounts and transactions traced for theft by deception, insurance fraud and criminal impersonation charges, which Alaska grades by the dollar amount involved.Learn more
• Vehicle, boat and aircraft recordsOwnership, permission, fuel and movement records gathered for first-degree vehicle theft charges involving pickup trucks, skiffs, seiners or small planes.Learn more
• Long-distance locatesRotational, seasonal and relocated witnesses found through lawful records so counsel can interview them in person, by phone or under subpoena.Learn more
• Jury panel researchPublic-record research on the venire for superior court trials in smaller Alaska communities where jurors may know the people involved in the case.Learn more
• Mitigation fact gatheringRecords and witness accounts that support sentencing mitigators, gathered and documented with the same care as evidence offered at trial.Learn more

How it works

How an Alaska felony investigation runs

1. 01

   Discovery review

   Counsel shares the charging document, discovery and hearing dates. We identify what is missing, what must be preserved and who must be found, then send a written scope and price.

2. 02

   Travel and preservation plan

   We map witnesses and scenes across road, ferry and air routes, confirm schedules, and give counsel a preservation list of cameras, records and physical evidence.

3. 03

   Field investigation

   Investigators interview witnesses, test the alibi, document scenes and research the State's witnesses, reporting to counsel at agreed checkpoints so nothing exceeds the approved scope.

4. 04

   Trial-ready reporting

   Counsel receives a written report with exhibits, timelines and interview memos. Our investigators prepare to testify at the preliminary hearing, motions or trial when needed.

Compare

Alaska felony classes (2025 Alaska Statutes, summarized; confirm with counsel)

Statewide coverage

Felony defense support across Alaska

Superior court cases in Anchorage and the Mat-Su are supported by investigators assigned to Anchorage and Palmer. Interior and North Slope files are planned from Fairbanks, with travel up the Dalton Highway or by air quoted in writing. Western Alaska cases at the courts in Bethel and Kotzebue run through regional hub airports. Southeast trials in Juneau and Sitka and Kodiak Island cases from Kodiak depend on air and ferry schedules. Kenai Peninsula matters work through Kenai and Homer, with scene visits timed to the season.

• Anchorage
• Fairbanks
• Juneau
• Bethel
• Kodiak
• Palmer
• All of Alaska

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Every service

Investigations available in Alaska

Every service below is available in Alaska and across Alaska, run by the same Delator Group leadership that manages our Tennessee casework. Choose a service to read how it works in Alaska.

Service areas

Private investigators across Alaska