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Derek and Suzi Alkonis pose with a photo of their son, Lt. Ridge Alkonis, in June 2022, in Dana Point, California. Ridge Alkonis, a U. S. Navy officer imprisoned in Japan for a fatal car crash that killed two Japanese citizens, has been transferred to U. S. custody.
WASHINGTON >> A Navy officer jailed in Japan for a car crash that claimed the lives of two Japanese citizens has been transferred to the United States and returned to the United States, his circle of relatives announced today.
Lt. Ridge Alkonis was serving a three-year criminal sentence after pleading guilty to the wrongful death of a woman and her son-in-law in May 2021. Alkonis’ circle of relatives said it was a twist of fate that happened . when he lost consciousness while on Mount Fuji. Japanese prosecutors argued that he fell asleep while drowsy and failed in his duty to prevent because he was getting tired.
“After 507 days, Lieutenant Ridge Alkonis is back in the United States. We are encouraged by Ridge’s return to the United States, but we cannot celebrate until Ridge is reunited with his family,” his family said in a statement. The family of Alkonis, who lives in Dana Point, California, said they appreciated the U. S. government’s efforts to complete the measure.
The case had generated significant exposure over the past 18 months and has a periodic point of tension between the two allies.
His circle of family members and supporters gathered outside the White House to call for his release. Mike Lee, R-Utah, has continually suggested that Japan move Alkonis into U. S. custody. Alkonis’ wife, Brittany, spoke briefly with President Joe Biden after his State of the Union address to Congress in February. And Biden raised this point at a meeting in May with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
It’s unclear exactly how much additional time Alkonis might need to stay behind bars in the U. S. under the terms of his transfer from Japan, which was carried out as part of a Justice Breakdown program that allows sentenced prisoners from some other country to be resettled to their home countries. The program stipulates that the sentence cannot be longer than that imposed through the foreign government. The U. S. Parole Board The U. S. Customs and Exchange Commission determines the release date for returning Americans.
His family circle says no criminal conviction is admissible.
“When the full set of facts and cases surrounding the case is presented to Biden’s leadership, we will be confident that he will temporarily acknowledge the absurdity of Ridge’s conviction,” the family members said. “We are confident that (the Department of Justice) will urgently wish to end this travesty of justice by releasing Ridge without delay, and we look forward to Ridge enjoying the holiday at home with his wife and children. “
A spokesperson for the branch sent a request for comment to the Bureau of Prisons, which said Alkonis was not in its custody.
Alkonis is a specialist in submarine warfare and acoustic engineering who, at the time of the accident, had spent just seven years in Japan as a civilian volunteer and naval officer.
In the spring of 2021, after a period of land-based assignments, Alkonis, a Southern California native, was preparing for a deployment as a department head on the USS Benfold, a missile destroyer.
With the project on hold, he embarked on an excursion to Mount Fuji for hiking and sightseeing with his wife and children. They had climbed part of the mountain and were back in the car, heading for lunch and ice cream near the outskirts of town. at the foot of Mount Fuji, when, according to his family, he lost consciousness after suffering from acute mountain sickness.
He was so lost, it is said, that neither his daughter’s cries for attention nor the effect of the collision woke him up. Her car crashed into parked cars and pedestrians in a parking lot, hitting the woman and her son-in-law. Or they died later.
After the twist of fate near Fujinomiya, Alkonis was arrested by the Japanese government and held for 26 days in solitary confinement in a police detention center. He was questioned several times a day and did not get any medical treatment or evaluation, according to a factual report provided through a family spokesman.
He said that by the time the U. S. government arrived to arrest Alkonis and take him back to a U. S. base, he was already being held by the Japanese.
He was charged with negligent conduct resulting in death and sentenced in October to 3 years in prison. Family members said they were encouraged through Alkonis’ attorney to ask Alkonis to cooperate, plead guilty and pay reimbursement to the victims’ family, signing a settlement worth about $1. 65 million.
Though the judge in the case expressed skepticism over the mountain-sickness claim, Alkonis’ family has consistently maintained that the crash was nothing more than a terrible accident.
“The word that comes to mind is fairness. We need him to get treatment in the event of an accident,” Alkonis’ father, Derek Alkonis, said in an interview with the AP last year. “We don’t feel like that happened. ” manner. We know this was not the case. And we are concerned that our son has been sentenced to 3 years in prison for an accident. “
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