A Navy officer jailed in Japan over a car crash that killed two Japanese citizens has been transferred into American custody and is back in the United States, where he has been booked into a federal detention center.
Lt. Ridge Alkonis had been serving a three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the negligent driving deaths of a woman and her son-in-law in May 2021. Alkonis’ family has said the crash was an accident that was caused when he lost consciousness while on a trip to Mount Fuji. Japanese prosecutors maintained that he fell asleep while drowsy and shirked a duty to pull over as he became fatigued.
“We are encouraged by Ridge’s transfer back to the United States but cannot celebrate until Ridge has been reunited with his family,” Alkonis family members said in a statement shortly after his release from the Japanese prison.
The Alkonis family, who live in Dana Point, have said they appreciated the U.S. government’s efforts to bring about the transfer.
By Thursday evening, Dec. 14, Alkonis was in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons at a federal prison in Los Angeles, according to a spokesman for the agency.
The case had generated substantial publicity over the past year and a half and had become a periodic point of tension between the two allies.
The Alkonis family and supporters had rallied outside the White House to call for his release. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, repeatedly urged Japan to transfer Alkonis to 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 the case during a May meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
It is unclear how much additional time Alkonis might be required to spend behind bars under the terms of his transfer from Japan, which was done through a Justice Department program that permits the relocation of prisoners convicted in another country back to their home nation. The program…
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