Prosecutors are unhappy with a judge's decision to provide a court-appointed attorney to an Anchorage police officer accused of sexually assaulting women while on duty.
Assistant District Attorney Brittany Dunlop filed a motion asking for a hearing to review Superior Court Judge Philip Volland's decision. She said suspended officer Anthony Rollins and his wife own housing and land valued at more than $1.1 million.
Besides the property, the motion noted that Rollins was making at least $35 an hour, with about $70 an hour for overtime. Rollins' wife, Denise Rollins, is also an officer with the Anchorage Police Department.
To qualify for a free lawyer in Alaska, the accused has to be an "indigent person" with few assets and little income, according to state law.
Rollins, 41, was indicted by a grand jury last month on multiple charges of sexual assault and other offenses. He pleaded not guilty to 14 felonies and six misdemeanors. The authorities allege he assaulted six women over a span of three years.
The lawyer Rollins initially hired dropped out after realizing how much work was involved and how unlikely it would be for the officer to pay him. Rollins would be paying attorney's fees at $250 to $500 an hour, plus money for experts, independent investigators and voluminous court documents and evidence.
"At this point, I think the case is large and complex enough that Mr. Rollins is going to need appointed counsel," the lawyer, Steve Wells, told the Anchorage Daily News.
Rollins and his wife own their Anchorage home and two rental properties, a four-unit building in Fairview and another four-unit building in Muldoon. They also own a tract of land worth about $140,000, according to a database of public records.
David Weber, the officer's court-appointed lawyer, told the court that Rollins owes more on the houses than they are worth.
No date has been set for a review of whether a free lawyer in justified. Rollins remains in the city jail pending a bail hearing Friday. The prosecution wants the judge to keep bail set at $100,000.
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http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/story/896661.html
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