August 11, 2026
(Fairbanks, AK) – Today, Fairbanks Superior Court Judge Kirk Schwalm sentenced Aaron Hague, 38, to 26 years of imprisonment. That sentence follows a two-week trial that occurred from March 23, 2026 to April 7, 2026 – its conclusion seeing the jury convict Hague of the charges of manslaughter, theft in the second degree, and tampering with physical evidence and acquit Hague of the charge of murder in the first degree.
Hague’s convictions arose from events that occurred in 2020. In August of that year, Hague was living with his victim John McClelland in a residence in North Pole. At the time, both were on probation and being supervised by the Alaska Department of Corrections. On the evening of Aug. 14, 2020, Hague and McClelland drove to an area north of Fairbanks to purportedly scout for moose. Once there, Hague killed McClelland by unknown means, stole his cellphone and debit card, concealed McClelland’s corpse in the woods, and then returned to Fairbanks where he immediately used McClelland’s s debit card to purchase alcohol. In the days that followed, Hague assumed possession of McClelland’s pickup truck, Jeep, boat, and trailer. Hague filed an unemployment insurance claim under McClelland’s name. Hague also used the stolen debit card to purchase numerous items for his residence.
After killing McClelland, Hague assumed McClelland’s identity and texted McClelland’s brother, employer, and probation officer from McClelland’s cellphone – saying that he [McClelland] was extremely ill and was being medevacked to Anchorage because he could not breathe or talk.
On Aug. 20, 2020, a trooper and two probation officers performed a welfare check at McClelland’s and Hague’s residence. Upon arrival there, McClelland was not located. Hague was not observed to be there either. While at the residence, one of the probation officers was able to contact Hague by phone. During that call, Hague indicated that he dropped McClelland off at an urgent care in Fairbanks on Aug. 17, 2020, and had not seen him since. Hague further indicated that he was in Anchorage trying to locate McClelland by checking area hospitals.
On Aug. 25, 2020, trooper investigators conducted a formal interview of Hague at the Fairbanks trooper post regarding McClelland’s disappearance. The following day, Hague fled Fairbanks and hitchhiked to Anchorage. Upon arrival there, he went to his cousin’s apartment. Hague told his cousin that he and his roommate got into it and then there was murder. Hague then tried to steal his cousin’s passport and was kicked out of the apartment as a result.
Hague then began staying at a temporary homeless shelter in Anchorage that was located in the Sullivan Arena. While residing there, Hague assumed the identity of his younger brother. During the time that Hague lived there under a false name, he befriended a man named Anthony Alcorn. Alcorn, who was originally from Ohio, looked very similar in appearance to Hague. In Oct. 2020, Hague took Alcorn’s Ohio identification card and used it to fly under Alcorn’s name to Seattle, Washington. Upon Hague’s arrival in Seattle, he took a train to Portland, Oregon. Once there, he assumed the identity of Anthony Alcorn and began to live and work under that name in Gresham, a suburb of Portland.
On March 30, 2021, Hague was arrested by the Gresham Police Department for conduct that is alleged to have occurred there. Hague was extradited back to Alaska in Oct. 2024.
At sentencing, Deputy District Attorney Andrew Baldock and Assistant District Attorney Katherine Gonsalves, who both prosecuted the case, requested that the court impose a sentence of 30 years of imprisonment – the maximum composite sentence authorized by law for the offenses Hague was convicted of. They also asked the court to restrict Hague’s discretionary parole eligibility. They argued that the sentence was appropriate due to the seriousness nature of the offenses – to include the fact that Hague’s killing of McClelland appeared to be premeditated and committed for financial gain, the likelihood of Hague’s rehabilitation being extremely poor, the significant need to isolate Hague from the community because of the extreme danger to the public he presents, and the fact that Hague committed each of the offenses while on felony probation. Hague, through his public defender, requested that the court impose a composite active term of imprisonment of 14 years.
After hearing from both the prosecution and the defense, Judge Schwalm imposed a composite sentence of 26 years to serve with none of that time suspended. In doing so, Judge Schwalm imposed a sentence of 18 years of imprisonment for the Manslaughter conviction, imposed a sentence of 4 years of imprisonment for the Theft in the Second Degree conviction, and imposed a sentence of 4 years of imprisonment for the Tampering with Physical Evidence conviction (the sentences for each conviction to run consecutively). In his sentencing comments, Judge Schwalm found Hague to be a worst offender as to all counts, remarked that Hague’s potential for rehabilitation was among the worst of all the people who come before the court, that there was a significant need to confine the defendant to protect the public, that a significant sentence was needed to deter the defendant from committing future crimes.
Deputy District Attorney Andrew Baldock and Assistant District Attorney Katherine Gonsalves, thank the Alaska State Troopers and the Gresham Police Department for their hard work investigating the crimes. They also thank Fairbanks District Attorney’s Office paralegals Allison Watega and Jaci Jividen for their exemplary work in preparing the case for both trial and sentencing.
In a related case, Hague has been charged by the state of Oregon with murder in the first degree and identity theft. The allegations in that case allege that in March of 2021, Hague, with the promise of a good paying job, lured Anthony Alcorn from Anchorage to Gresham, Oregon where he killed him in a wooded area in order to perfect his theft of Alcorn’s identity to avoid prosecution for McClelland’s death in Alaska. The charges in Oregon are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless he is proven guilty.
Trial in the Oregon case is set to begin on Jan. 11, 2027. If convicted of murder in the first degree in that case, Hague faces a mandatory sentence under Oregon law of life imprisonment.
As of this writing, the remains of John McClelland have never been found.
CONTACT: District Attorney Joe Dallaire at 907-451-5970 or joe.dallaire@alaska.gov
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Department Media Contact: Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.
Due to resource constraints, we no longer post links to referenced records. Records filed in a federal court are readily available at Docket Search or PACER, and records filed in a State of Alaska court are readily available from the Alaska Court System (Trial Courts - Alaska Court System and Search for an Appellate Case). Contact Sam Curtis to request a referenced record that is not readily available from a court or on the internet, or contact law.recordsrequest@alaska.gov to submit a formal Alaska Public Records Act request.
