World Courant
A Navy officer serving a three-year jail sentence abroad following a lethal automobile crash that killed two Japanese residents close to Mount Fuji is now on his manner again dwelling to the U.S., his household stated Thursday.
The return of Lt. Ridge Alknois comes after his spouse Brittany informed Fox Information earlier this yr that he “shouldn’t be in jail proper now” and that she believed U.S. diplomats “deserted” her husband following the Might 2021 incident.
“After 507 days, Lt. Ridge Alkonis is on his manner dwelling to the US. We’re inspired by Ridge’s switch again to the US however can not rejoice till Ridge has been reunited together with his household,” the Dana Level, California-based household informed The Related Press in an announcement.
“We admire the efforts of the U.S. Authorities to impact this switch and are glad that an neutral set of judiciary eyes will assessment his case for the primary time,” the assertion added, noting that “when the Biden Administration is introduced with the entire set of info and circumstances surrounding the case, we’re assured they are going to promptly acknowledge the absurdity of Ridge’s conviction.”
WIFE OF NAVY OFFICER JAILED IN JAPAN SLAMS DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FOR ‘UNIMAGINABLE’ TREATMENT
Derek and Suzi Alkonis pose with a photograph of their son Lt. Ridge Alkonis in June 2022, in Dana Level, California. (AP/Denis Poroy)
Alkonis’ household has stated the naval officer – who was getting ready for a deployment as a division head on the usBenfold, a missile destroyer – abruptly misplaced consciousness within the automobile he was driving after an tour together with his spouse and kids to Mount Fuji on Might 29, 2021, inflicting him to hunch over behind the wheel after struggling acute mountain illness.
They’d climbed a portion of the mountain and had been again within the automobile, heading to lunch and ice cream close to the bottom of Mount Fuji when the crash occurred. However Japanese prosecutors and the choose who sentenced Alkonis contend he fell asleep whereas drowsy, shirking an obligation to drag over instantly.
WIFE OF NAVY OFFICER IMPRISONED IN JAPAN PLEADS WITH BIDEN TO SECURE HIS RELEASE
Lt. Ridge Alkonis and a member of the family (‘Fox Information @ Night time’ screenshot)
After the crash close to Fujinomiya, Alkonis was arrested by Japanese authorities and held for 26 days in solitary confinement at a police detention facility, interrogated a number of occasions a day and was not given medical therapy or an analysis, in line with an announcement from a household spokesman to the AP. That assertion says that when American authorities arrived to take Alkonis into custody and return him to a U.S. base, he already was held by the Japanese.
Folks present their help for U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis throughout an illustration on Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C., when President Biden was internet hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the White Home. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Company by way of Getty Pictures)
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Alkonis later was indicted on a cost of negligent driving, leading to dying, and was sentenced to 3 years in jail.
The Related Press contributed to this report.
Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox Information Digital.
