Alaska man pleads guilty to kidnapping of gang member

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska man who played a role in the death of a gang member has pleaded guilty to kidnapping.

The Anchorage Daily News reports 32-year-old Beau Cook pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Cook is one of six men charged in the 2017 death of 34-year-old Michael Staton.

Staton was a member of the 1488s, a white-supremacist prison gang.

Prosecutors say an associate of the gang suspected Staton of stealing a motorcycle vest and drugs.

Staton was found beaten, burned and shot to death in Matanuska-Susitna Borough forest.

Prosecutors say Cook prepared a bedroom in a Wasilla home for Staton’s beating by covering the floor and walls with painter’s plastic.

Prosecutors say Cook witnessed the beating, helped load Staton while still alive into a vehicle and cleaned up the room.
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Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com