Roger K. Aletras

Roger K. Aletras, 36, of the Bronx, who also goes by the name Roger Knox, is the only defendant named in the 5-count indictment unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vt.
Aletras is accused of killing 25-year-old Kevin D. Arkenau Jr. by shooting him twice in the head in a room at the former Sheraton Hotel on Broadway on Dec. 17, 2002.
The indictment against Aletras includes a charge of murder, as well as lesser counts that accuse him of robbery, gun possession and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Aletras could face the death penalty under federal murder statutes.
Federal prosecutors in Vermont said in a news release that Aletras and Arkenau robbed two men of 50 pounds of marijuana at gunpoint in South Burlington, Vt., in the hours before they arrived in Saratoga Springs. They had traveled from New York City to Vermont on Dec. 16.
Saratoga Springs Police Chief Edward Moore would not say if police know why Aletras killed Arkenau, or how they came to identify Aletras as the killer.
"We're not releasing what we know from the time they checked in until subsequently, later on that afternoon at 3:16 p.m., when we received a call from the Sheraton Hotel stating that an employee found a deceased individual on one of the beds in the hotel," Moore said.
Tara Stock, who described herself as Arkenau's best friend and former roommate, said Wednesday that Arkenau's friends and relatives were "very happy" to hear charges had been filed in the case.
"Justice is going to be served," she said. "It took a long time, but they made sure they put together a good case. Short of Kevin being back here living with us, this is the best thing we could have gotten."
Arkenau was believed to have been shot with a handgun equipped with a silencer as he slept in a bed. He was found dead in the hotel room by cleaning staff.
Both Aletras and Arkenau had extensive criminal records that included involvement in trafficking large amounts of marijuana. Authorities believed they were involved with a ring that moved hundreds of pounds of the drug from Canada into the U.S. through the Akwesasne Indian reservation in Vermont.
It was those allegations in the case, which crossed state lines and national borders, that prompted Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy to ask federal prosecutors to take over the investigation. They have broader subpoena powers, and their jurisdiction can cross state lines.
"Without their assistance, we would have had difficulty proceeding with our jurisdictional issues," he said.
It also became apparent during the investigation that the marijuana distribution ring had ties to organized crime groups, officials said