Valdez, AK – A Valdez-based Alaska Superior Court jury found 29-year old Christopher Levi Harnden guilty of felony first-degree assault on Monday, March 14, 2016.

On November 2, 2015, Valdez Police and Fire Departments and the Alaska State Troopers responded to a report of a woman with alleged knife wounds in need of immediate medical attention on Glacier Haul Dump Road. Emergency responders discovered a 32-year old woman bleeding heavily from a laceration to her face and transported her by ambulance to Providence Valdez Medical Center. The woman was later transferred by medivac to the Providence Anchorage Intensive Care Unit.

Following investigation into the incident, Valdez police filed for and received an arrest warrant charging Harnden with domestic violence, first-degree assault, and tampering with physical evidence. With coordination from the Anchorage Police Department, Harnden was arrested in Anchorage on November 3, 2015.

On November 10, 2015, the State District Attorney’s office indicted Harnden on three counts of first-degree assault and one count of tampering with physical evidence. A four day Valdez Superior Court jury trial of the case began on March 8, 2016, concluding with a guilty verdict on a sole count of felony first-degree assault.

Harnden will be sentenced on July 11, 2016 in Valdez Superior Court.

Posted March 16, 2016

Lieutenant Dan Mott, Valdez Police Department

Allie Ferko, Public Information Officer, City of Valdez