MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A teenage murder suspect wanted in Alaska is in custody following a traffic stop in Monongalia County.
U.S. Marshals and officers with the Morgantown Police Department arrested Matthew Riek Gat, 19, on Collins Ferry Road Friday, Sept. 16.
Alaska State Troopers obtained an arrest warrant for Gat Sept. 8.
Gat is accused in the Aug. 22 shooting death of Michael Miquann Mitchell, who was found dead in the road near Anchorage’s Stuckagain Heights neighborhood. The victim was reportedly shot multiple times in the head and torso.
Deputy US Marshals in the Northern District of West Virginia received information from Alaskan authorities Thursday that Gat may be in the area.
Investigators began observing the parking lot of a local apartment complex where Gat was spotted and later arrested after complying with a traffic stop around 3:10 p.m.
Gat will be charged by the Morgantown Police Department as a fugitive from justice and will appear in Monongalia County Court. Following extradition hearings, he will be returned to Alaska to face his charges. He will be held at the North Central Regional Jail pending the hearings.
Another man, Kutay Khak Bangout, has also been charged in the case and is currently in custody in Alaska.