Edward Burns Kimoktoak v. State Alaska

BURKE, Justice. OPINION. Edward Burns Kimoktoak was found guilty by a jury of joyriding under AS 28.35.010 and of failure to render aid and assistance to a person he had run over with a motor vehicle under AS 28.35.060. In this appeal, Kimoktoak challenges his conviction for failure to render aid under AS 28.35.060 on the grounds that the statute is unconstitutional, that two of the instructions given the jury were improper, and that the trial court improperly allowed a sealed verdict over defense objection in violation of Criminal Rule 31(f). He challenges the joyriding conviction solely on the basis that the trial court erred in allowing the sealed verdict. There is little dispute as to the facts in this case. At about 10-10:30 p.m. on May 22, 1976, while driving an automobile he was using without permission from the owner, appellant twice ran over one Oscar Johnson while pulling out of a parking space in a parking lot behind an Anchorage bar. Kimoktoak then drove to another part of the parking lot where he remained for several minutes. The police arrived on the scene during that time and a witness pointed out the defendant's car. The officers ran toward the car, one of them shouting to the driver to stop, but the vehicle quickly sped away. One of the policemen recognized Kimoktoak as the driver and attempted unsuccessfully to stop the car by firing a shot through the back window. The officer then put out a radio locate with a description of the incident, the vehicle, its license plate number and the driver. Shortly thereafter, two other officers picked up Kimoktoak at the Alaska Native Services Hospital parking lot. One of the officers knocked the defendant unconscious (there was conflicting testimony as to the reason for this), and it was necessary to take him into the hospital. He was then taken to jail at about 2:00 a.m. on May 23, 1976.