A former spokesman for the Alaska House of Representatives facing assault charges after he allegedly hit his girlfriend has been terminated.
Alaska House press secretary William Oliver Vandergriff struck his girlfriend, a legislative aide, multiple times on her head while holding her by her throat, according to a charging document filed by Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion.
“(He) got on top of her on the bed, pinning her arms down while she was lying down,” the victim told police of the June 12 incident. She said Vandergriff, 37, would not let her leave and he struck her head several times.
Vandergriff was arrested in Anchorage after a neighbor called 911, telling police he was outside smoking when he heard what sounded like a woman screaming. He walked closer to the where the sound was coming from and said he heard slapping sounds, according to the charging document. The neighbor then heard a woman say she was going to call the police, and then a man said no she wasn’t.
Campion’s office did not file charges against Vandergriff until June 28.
Vandergriff faces two counts of fourth-degree assault, one for causing reckless injury and another for causing fear of injury. Both are class A misdemeanors punishable by up to one year in prison and/or a $10,000 fine. Vandergriff denied the assault when speaking with police, but he did tell police he was arguing that night with his girlfriend.
Vandergriff did not immediately respond to the Empire when contacted on his cell phone for comment on Thursday. An attorney is also not listed for him, according to online court records.
Police noted in the charging document seeing redness on the victim’s face and bruises on Vandergriff’s chest from where the victim said she attempted to push Vandergriff off of her. She told police similar violent events had taken place since February, with the most recent incident being the worst one. She said she never believed her life was in jeopardy, only that she would suffer serious injuries.
House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, said Vandergriff, who has worked in the House’s press office since 2006, was placed on administrative leave after the arrest, the Alaska Dispatch News reported. Jeremiah Campbell, who has replaced Vandergriff as press secretary, told The Associated Press that Friday was Vandergriff’s last day on the job.
Vandergriff is out on bail, according to online court records. He is scheduled to appear in Anchorage’s District Court for an arraignment July 22.
Vandergriff’s arrest marks the second time a spokesperson for one of the Legislature’s majority caucuses has been arrested in a little over a year. In June 2015, then-Alaska Senate press secretary Carolyn Kuckertz was charged with drunken driving and three felonies after hitting two women and driving away after leaving work in Anchorage. Kuckertz was eventually fired from her position. In a September 2015 plea deal, she pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony assault and to driving under the influence.
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
