A vehicular assault and shooting in Nikiski early Saturday morning led to a power outage for an entire neighborhood, and a K9 manhunt which spanned several hours.
At about 3:30am Saturday morning, a Soldotna AST unit on patrol responded to the report of a vehicular assault and shooting on Emerald Street in Nikiski. The report stated that John Covich, age 41 of Nikiski, had intentionally rammed his Ford Expedition into a Chevrolet truck, pushing it off the roadway and into a power pole.
The collision with the power pole resulted in a nearby neighborhood’s loss of power.
Homer Electric posted on social media later that day regarding the incident;
“We are aware of a criminal incident involving multiple vehicles in Nikiski that damaged HEA facilities resulting in approximately 35 members being without power since the early morning hours. We apologize that you have been without power for so long and appreciate your patience. Police have responded and are investigating the crime scene. Homer Electric is cooperating with state and local law enforcement who are investigating the matter. We have not been cleared to enter the crime scene to assess or make the necessary repairs to restore power. HEA crew are standing by ready to respond as soon as the crime scene is cleared. We ask that you avoid the area to allow police to conclude their investigation and HEA crews to repair and restore power without interruption. We appreciate your patience and thank law enforcement for their professionalism.”
The report of the incident indicated that the driver of the truck being pushed off the road fired a handgun multiple times at Covich’s vehicle.
When Covich could not be immediately be located by responding AST, the Soldotna Major Crimes Unit was notified and responded with haste. AST K-9 Trooper Woodruff also responded to perform a K-9 track.
Hours after the initial incident, Covich was located unharmed. Investigation led to Covich’s arrest on four counts of Assault 3, one count of Criminal Mischief 3, and one count of Assault 4.
Due to Covich’s relationship with the driver and passenger, these are all crimes of domestic violence. Covich was remanded to the Wildwood Pretrial Facility without incident.