Samoan man in Alaska charged in kidnapping and assault case

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Ketchikan, ALASKA — A 33-year-old Samoan man in Ketchikan, Alaska faces felony kidnapping and assault charges stemming from an incident that ended last Friday afternoon when an Alaska State Trooper spotted the alleged victim running in traffic on North Tongass Highway with head injuries and his hands duct-taped together.

Nathan Ta’ala was arrested last week Friday and charged with kidnapping, two counts of second-degree assault and one count of third-degree assault. During felony first appearances in court on Sunday and Monday, bail for Ta’ala was set and upheld at a total of $200,000 — a $100,000 cash performance bond, and a $100,000 appearance bond secured by $10,000 cash.

According to the criminal complaint filed with the court, a trooper lieutenant was driving near the 4700 block of North Tongass Highway when he observed a male individual whose hands were bound with duct tape and whose head was “actively bleeding” running southbound on the highway, obstructing traffic. The trooper contacted the individual, who allegedly said that Ta’ala was trying to kill him. He pointed at Ta’ala, who had left his residence located in that same area, according to the complaint.

The criminal complaint indicated that the incident occurred during a time period of about 45 minutes, but didn’t describe where the alleged circumstance occurred or any events leading up to the incident.

Based on information from the victim, Ta’ala is alleged to have hit the alleged victim on the head with a splitting maul, cinched a ratchet strap around his neck and duct-taped his hands together. Ta’ala allegedly dragged him on the ground by the ratchet strap, threatened to harm him with a butcher knife and used the knife to cut the top of his head.

The said victim stated that “he was looking for opportunities to escape from the defendant during this incident, which lasted approximately 45 minutes.” Ta’ala allegedly then placed a hood on the individual’s head and put him in the front passenger seat of a vehicle and Ta’ala got into the driver’s seat.

The individual said that “the defendant looked to his left and he was able to exit the vehicle and escape.”

KPD officers who responded noted that the individual was “actively bleeding” from the top of his head, had swelling and redness on his neck, which was “caked in blood;” and was wearing a T-shirt that also was caked in blood, according to the criminal complaint. The officers saw a splitting maul and ratchet strap covered in blood.

The Ketchikan Fire Department responded to the scene with an ambulance. However, the individual went to PeaceHealth Ketchikan Medical Center by other means.

When the individual was contacted by police in Saturday, he “said he’d visited the hospital and had received medical care,” Mattson said.

Ta’ala’s next scheduled court appearance is a preliminary hearing is today on July 14, 2023 at 9:30 a.m. in Ketchikan District Court.