Four people were taken into custody and questioned following a shooting at a south Anchorage trailer park early Monday morning.

At 2:14 a.m., the Anchorage Police Department (APD) stated they received several calls about gunshots on the 5700 block of South Tahiti Loop. Callers said along with the shots fired, four adults tried to leave the scene in a Jeep but crashed into the trailer’s fence instead, then got out of the vehicle and went into the trailer.

APD officers arrived and found the empty Jeep in the fence, with a shattered window and what appeared to be a bullet hole in one side, according to a release from police. The people inside the trailer refused to respond to officers who tried to speak with them. APD stated that after 15 minutes of officers making announcements on a loud speaker, three men, one woman and a 7-year-old child came outside.

The four adults were taken into custody and individually questioned, police said. All four denied being hurt, but during the interviews, police found out one of the men had a gunshot wound to the shoulder and the woman had a “glancing” gunshot wound to the chest. Neither injury was life-threatening, according to APD, and both injured people were taken to the hospital.

None of the adults were cooperative with police about the incident. They denied knowing who would shoot at them and one adult denied even knowing there had been a shooting.

Police stated no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

Jacqueline Stefano in court Monday

Connor Stefano in court Monday

The brother and mother of a man accused of kidnapping and murdering a woman found dead in his car made an appearance in court Monday for related charges.

Connor Stefano and Jacqueline Stefano have been accused of helping Benjamin Wilkins cover up the murder of Jacqueline Goodwin, who was found in Wilkins’ vehicle after he crashed it into a utility pole on June 27. Both Stefanos face charges of first-degree hindering the prosecution. Connor Stefano was also charged with tampering with physical evidence, and Jacqueline Stefano with fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance.

Police said in charging documents against the three suspects that Connor Stefano likely assisted Wilkins in removing Goodwin’s body from their family’s home. He admitted to trying to clean up blood in the basement area of the home, where police found evidence that Goodwin had been tortured and shot.

Jacqueline Stefano told police she had heard Wilkins and a female voice arguing, and that the female had sounded “distressed.” But rather than calling police, she called Connor Stefano and told him to “deal with it,” charging documents state.

Connor Stefano was arraigned on June 30 and posted bail on July 7, online court records show. Jacqueline Stefano paid her bail the same day she was arrested.

Both were in the courtroom gallery for Monday’s hearing, along with some of their other family members. Neither spoke at the hearing, but their lawyer entered a not guilty plea to all charges on their behalf.

A pretrial conference with Judge Kevin Saxby has been scheduled for Aug. 15 at 2:30 p.m.

A 24-year-old Anchorage woman suspected of shooting a former boyfriend during an argument in a vehicle was arrested Tuesday.

Christina Kehl is being held on suspicion of felony domestic violence assault and weapons misconduct.

Anchorage police at 2:30 p.m. took a call that a man had suffered a gunshot wound at Russian Jack Park.

The man had a previous dating relationship with Kehl and picked her up. An argument turned physical and the man pulled into the park parking lot.

Police say Kehl grabbed the man’s gun from the side pocket of the driver’s side door, and during a struggle over the weapon, it fired once, striking the man’s leg.

Police say Kehl fled and was found in woods with the gun.

Police say the man’s wound is not life-threatening.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Anchorage police have named the man who was shot and killed by officers following an armed robbery at a hardware store.

In a Wednesday afternoon release from the Anchorage Police Department, the man was identified as 23-year-old Benjamin Zekovic.

He was shot during an altercation with police behind the East Anchorage Home Depot store Tuesday evening, according to APD. Zekovic was transported to a local hospital in critical condition, where he later died.

The two officers involved in the shooting have been placed on a mandatory four-day administrative leave. Their names will be released following the required absence.

Zekovic’s next of kin have been notified. The incident and fatal shooting remain under investigation.

Clifton Sun

Alaska State Troopers

Alaska State Troopers are in Kobuk actively looking for a man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at the end of May 2015.

Troopers said in an online dispatch they have been looking for 53-year-old Clifton Sun since the alleged incident was first reported on May 31, 2016. The victim’s mother found a seemingly intoxicated Sun sexually assaulting her daughter and managed to get him off of her, charging documents show. She then took her daughter to the Kobuk clinic and reported the assault to troopers.

Based on interviews with the victim and her mother, troopers filed 10 charges against Sun, including first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Troopers were granted a no-bail warrant for his arrest, but so far he has evaded capture.

“Troopers have been actively searching for Sun in and around the community since the initial report,” AST spokeswoman Megan Peters wrote in the dispatch. ”Troopers believe that previously some people were assisting in hiding and supporting Sun’s ability to remain free on these serious offenses.”

Sun has prior convictions of assault, as well as a resisting arrest conviction. A Kobuk Village Police Officer saw Sun on May 31, 2015 with a rifle in his hand. He may face additional charges for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

“Clifton has an extremely assaultive history, shows no regard for his own blood kin and family, was observed in possession of a firearm contrary to the conditions of his probation,” trooper Ted Nordgaarden wrote in his warrant affidavit. “[The victim’s mother] fears for her family, family members remaining in the village and does not feel safe returning home.”

Troopers said they have received word that Sun was seen in the village of Kobuk this week.

“We have no credible information that Clifton Sun has threatened anyone in the community since the initial report,” Peters said in an email to KTVA. “Further he was reported to be actively running from individuals in the community when they attempted to contact him.”

Anyone with information on Sun’s whereabouts is asked to call Kotzebue troopers at 907-442-3222, or Crime Stoppers at 907-561-STOP (7867) to remain anonymous.

Kobuk is located in Western Alaska along the Kobuk River, southeast of Ambler.

A Sterling man was arrested Wednesday night on more than 20 charges related to sexual abuse of a minor, according to an online dispatch from the Alaska State Troopers.

Authorities with AST, the Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit and the Anchorage Police Department served a search warrant at the home of 55-year-old Bradley Elliott relating to charges of sexual abuse of a minor, child pornography and misconduct involving controlled substances, troopers wrote.

Authorities say the charges against Elliot stem from multiple victims.

Elliott was taken to Wildwood Pre-Trial in Kenai, and the investigation is ongoing.

Senate Bill 91, an extensive effort to reform criminal justice in Alaska, was signed into law by Gov. Bill Walker Monday.  That same day, two people were arrested for driving while intoxicated, but did not go to jail because of the new guidelines of SB 91, according to Anchorage Police Department Sgt. Gerard Asselin.

“Both those people were released on their own recognizance immediately,” said Asselin, president of the APD Employees Association. “If we’re genuinely concerned about the safety of our public, I think most people would say that’s probably not a good course of action.”

SB 91 changes many things about Alaska’s criminal justice system, including the addition of a pretrial unit within the Department of Corrections charged with determining which types of offenders deserve jail time and which ones can be released on an electronic monitoring program.

It also changes some felonies to misdemeanors. For example, second-degree theft now requires a person to steal at least $1,000 work of a product or service, instead of the previous amount of $750.

While the bill received bipartisan support in Juneau, some in the law enforcement community, including Asselin, staunchly opposed it. He said having to enforce the law now is frustrating.

“Law enforcement as a whole was disregarded in our opposition to the bill, and now we’re trying [to] make it work. It’s a little bit discouraging,” said Asselin.

However, Dean Williams, the commissioner of the Alaska DOC, said the crime bill is not as risky as it might seem, and similar bills have proven successful in other states.

“There’re some unknowns in this, and it makes people nervous, I get that. But this has been done in every other state and it’s proven great results and they have the data to prove it,” said Williams.

He added that putting people away for relatively minor offenses only makes them more likely to break the law again in the future.

“Crime rates actually go down because you don’t have people who are losing their jobs who become [a] higher risk of committing a crime,” Williams said.

Asselin was not as confident that crime rates would decrease.

“If you reduce criminal penalties, then it’s easier to say crime has been reduced,” he said.

While Asselin said some officers are frustrated and confused with the changes to the law, Williams is confident they will eventually be successful.

“It just takes time,” said Williams.

KTVA 11′s Eric Ruble can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter.

An Anchorage man pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday for a consolidated charge of child pornography distribution, according to a release from the Anchorage Police Department.

Anchorage Superior Court Judge Paul Olson sentenced 46-year-old Bernard Irrigoo Jr to 10 years in jail with two suspended, plus five years of probation, the release said. He will also be required to be on the sex offender registry for 15 years.

Police said an APD detective was working undercover in March 2013 when he received files that showed Irrigoo possessed and was sharing images and videos that depicted the sexual exploitation of minor children.

While executing a search of Irrigoo’s home, authorities found more evidence of child pornography, as well as material that depicted sexual abuse of children, “some who were as young as six or seven years old,” according to the release.

Irrigoo was arrested in early 2014 and indicted on six charges related to possession and distribution of child pornography. Police said Irrigoo “accepted responsibility for the charged crimes” earlier this year, but he did not formally plead guilty until Wednesday.

KTVA 11′s Makayla Clark contributed to this report.

Multiple law enforcement agencies are investigating a home invasion that turned into an assault and attempted murder, leaving a homeowner in the hospital, according to a release from Alaska State Troopers.

Around 1:15 a.m. Thursday morning, troopers responded to a report of a home invasion on Plumley Road in Palmer.

A dispatch from AST states two people entered the home through a window. When the homeowner confronted the strangers with a firearm, one of the intruders shot the homeowner in the arm.

Both suspects fled the residence on foot. The Wasilla Police Department responded with a K-9 unit to track the suspects, but neither was located.

The homeowner was taken to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. One other person was in the home at the time of the break-in but was not injured.

Multiple units from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation responded. Investigation is ongoing. Authorities are not releasing the names of the homeowners at this time, citing circumstances surrounding the investigation for withholding the information.

Updated at 1:25 p.m. on Friday, July 22

The Anchorage Police Department is seeking information from the public following an overnight robbery at an Anchorage sporting goods store.

APD said in a Thursday release that officers responded to an alarm at Mountain View Sports on the Old Seward Highway at about 3:45 a.m. on July 21. When police arrived, they found the front door had been broken, along with glass display cases inside the store.

“The response was quick. The alarm worked. However, the thieves were faster,” store owner John Staser said in a phone interview Friday. ”This is an attack. This isn’t just a theft, this isn’t shoplifting, this is a calculated attack.”

Surveillance video posted to the store’s Facebook page shows two people entering the store. One of them breaks into a display case and runs off with a large bundle of goods. The two then apparently escaped in a white truck, according to the post.

The video was posted with the following note:

Mountain View Sports experienced a major theft of firearms last night around 3:30 am. We are offering a $1,000.00 reward for any information that leads to the prosecution of the two light-skinned young males. We are also seeking information on a late model, white extended cab short bed truck, which was caught on camera around the time of the theft in our parking lot. More pictures and a list of the stolen firearms will follow. Please share!

Staser said thieves made off with a large collection of mostly rare, high-end hand guns. The guns were secured together with a cable, but the cable was not properly secured to the store’s cabinet. A simple human error, according to Staser.

In operation since 1961, Staser said his small business has been the target of repeated robberies over the years.

“We used to have a break in at least once a year,” he said. “The only way to prevent this is to build a fortress around you.”

As a result, he installed large concrete blocks at the former Midtown location to prevent people from driving vehicles through the front door — a step that helped lessen the number of break-ins over the years.

Security upgrades at the new store location could cost between $10,000 to $20,000, according to Staser, but it’s a cost he says is necessary.

“We’re a small business fighting Cabella’s and Bass Pro. Under tremendous strain … just trying to make a living,” he said. “It’s tough to invest that kind of money in security, but we will do it.”

Until the security upgrades are complete, Staser said his staff will take extra measures to ensure the guns are locked up or moved to a secure location every night.

Mountain View Sports is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.

The local office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is working with APD on the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call 786-8900 and reference case 16-30568 or file an anonymous tip with CrimeStoppers.

Webster Leavitt, courtesy Anchorage Police Department

ANCHORAGE — The Anchorage Police Department is looking for 33-year-old Webster Leavitt, who escaped from the Cordova Center Saturday night.

According to a statement from police, Leavitt kicked out his window at the halfway house and ran away.

Leavitt was last seen wearing a gray shirt and blue jeans, police said. He is 5-feet-10-inches tall, weighs roughly 172 pounds and has brown hair and eyes.

Police said Leavitt was in custody for violating his conditions of release in connection to a domestic violence assault charge. He has a previous conviction of assault, as well as vehicle theft.

Anyone with information on Leavitt’s whereabouts is asked to call APD at 907-786-8900 or Crime Stoppers at 907-561-STOP (7867) to remain anonymous.

1600 block of Russian Jack Drive

Eric Ruble / KTVA

The Anchorage Police Department is actively searching for a woman for whom they’ve obtained a felony warrant following a fight involving multiple suspects on Russian Jack Drive.

Multiple people called APD around 4:19 a.m. to report a fight on the 1600 block of Russian Jack Drive. When police arrived, they spoke with a woman who told police she was dragged outside her home after answering the door when someone began pounding on it.

Amber Renee Morrison

Three females, including 34-year-old Amber Renee Morrison, began beating on her, she told police. Morrison is the ex-girlfriend of the victim’s current boyfriend, police said.

The victim’s brother heard the fight, and when he went outside to help her, four males began hitting him.

“In self-defense, the brother pulled out a knife and slashed one of his male attackers,” police wrote.

The males fled in a vehicle, firing a BB gun at the brother several times, police said.

According to police, the siblings were both checked out by medics at the scene but did not need to be taken to a hospital for further treatment.

About 20 minutes after the initial reports came in regarding the fight, an Anchorage hospital informed police a male stabbing victim had been dropped off. Police said the man matched the description of one of the men involved in the fight, but the man claimed he was stabbed at a downtown bar and was dropped off at the hospital by a friend.

“The man was unable to provide any information regarding his friend and he also changed his story regarding which bar he had been assaulted at,” police wrote. “When police began to question the man’s story, he became uncooperative and quit talking.”

The man’s wounds weren’t considered life-threatening, according to APD spokeswoman Renee Oistad.

The investigation into the stabbing is ongoing, police said. They have obtained a felony arrest warrant for Morrison on the charge of fourth-degree assault. She is 5-feet-8-inches tall and weighs 165 pounds.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts or the fight is asked to call police at 907-786-8900. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 907-561-STOP (7867).

An Anchorage couple is asking for help identifying the driver of a blue Ford F-150 after being chased and rammed repeatedly by the unknown vehicle Friday evening.

Cell phone video making rounds on social media this weekend shows couple’s view from inside their sport utility vehicle as it was hit repeatedly by the pickup truck. Grace Bernert recorded the event from the passenger seat of the SUV. Her boyfriend was driving and his two-year-old daughter can be seen in the back seat.

“The guy was so close, we couldn’t see his headlights,” Bernert recalled Sunday.

The couple and toddler were on their way home from downtown Anchorage when they noticed the Ford F-150 following close behind them. They tried to get away by going into the Sullivan Arena parking lot. That’s when Bernert recorded the short video before calling 911. She estimates the truck hit their SUV “five to seven times.” Her boyfriend then drove to the Cal Worthington Ford parking lot in a continued effort to avoid the driver.

“We started doing circles around the brand-new Fords because we thought the truck wouldn’t be able to turn as fast as we would,” said Bernert. “We were right, but the guy didn’t care. He just kept hitting the new Fords and backing up, coming after us.”

Bernert said the truck hit three or four vehicles in the Worthington lot. The dealership declined to comment on the incident.

The couple eventually drove into a nearby neighborhood and got away from the pickup. Bernert said she believes they were targeted, but doesn’t know why.

“The guy was either some random, sick person who didn’t care or somebody who knew us and didn’t care there was a kid in the car,” she said.

Police arrived a short time after the driver left, and the couple filed a report. The Anchorage Police Department is investigating the incident. APD spokesperson Renee Oistad said calling 911 is the smart thing to do if being followed by an aggressive driver, and to avoid driving to your own house.

“Do not show them where you live. If you’re already in your neighborhood when you realize this is happening, keep driving and drive away,” said Oistad.

She also encouraged people to call the non-emergency number — 907-786-8900 – if the incident was over.

Bernert did not manage to get the license plate number of the truck. She describes the vehicle as a blue 2001 Ford F-150 with a bug shield on the hood and a damaged headlight. She said the driver was a man with dark hair who was wearing a suit.

“We want the guy to go to jail, [and] fix the damages that he did,” said Bernert.

She is hoping someone recognizes the truck and turns in the driver.

“We’re scared,” said Bernert. “I can’t sleep because I’m terrified someone is following me.”

KTVA 11′s Eric Ruble can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter.

Bonney Bowman / KTVA

Bonney Bowman / KTVA

The Anchorage Police Department said one man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a five hour-long standoff in an East Anchorage apartment complex Monday. The man’s name is being withheld, police said.

According to APD, the incident began to unravel shortly before 11 a.m. when officers attempted to stop a Volkswagen sedan in the Debarr Road and Pine Street area. The driver had a felony warrant for a probation violation and sped away from the officers.

At a 42-unit apartment complex, on the 4600 block of Reka Drive, the driver abandoned the vehicle and barricaded himself inside of one of the apartments.

Shortly after, officers closed Reka and Pine and began searching the complex. During the search the driver fired “several shots” and damaged the building.

The standoff came to an end around 4 p.m. when the man stepped onto the balcony and shot himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lauren Maxwell / KTVA

A 17-year-old male was taken to an Anchorage hospital with serious injuries after he was shot in the chest in the Fairview neighborhood early Monday morning, according to Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Anita Shell.

Shell provided few details, but said at 4:48 a.m. the teen walked into a Holiday Gas Station, at the 4600 block of Mountain View Drive, with a gunshot injury to the chest. He told responding officers he had been shot minutes earlier while driving in the area of 6^th Avenue and Karluk Street, Shell said.

The teen is expected to survive.

Shell said no arrests have been made and police are still investigating.

This is a developing story; please check back for updates.

Correction: An earlier version of this story stated the victim was shot in the Mountain View neighborhood. He was shot in the Fairview neighborhood, then drove to a gas station in Mountain View. 

A man suspected of using a knife to confront a rafting party along the Chickaloon River has been charged with four counts of felony assault.

Alaska State Troopers say 56-year-old Bruce Harrison of Chickaloon, claiming the group was trespassing, on Monday untied a raft carrying five juveniles and kicked it into fast water toward rapids.

A guide swam to the raft and took control of it.

Online court records Tuesday did not list an attorney for Harrison.

The incident began when one of four rafts from Nova River Runners overturned, putting juveniles in the water. The four rafts tied up on the east bank.

Troopers say Harrison confronted the rafters, claiming they were trespassing, and threatened a guide who attempted to explain the situation.

Harrison was jailed in Palmer.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

An Anchorage man has been arrested and indicted on multiple charges of assault, robbery, burglary and theft after conducting targeted attacks on registered sex offenders, according to a Wednesday release from the Alaska Attorney General’s Office.

According to prosecutors, 41-year-old Jason Christian Vukovich attacked at least three men listed on the Alaska Sex Offender Registry between June 25 and June 29 of this year.

The first incident occurred on June 25, in which Vukovich robbed and assaulted Charles Albee, prosecutors said. The victim reported to police that a man with “shoulder-length hair and a black leather jacket” had broken into his apartment, assaulted and robbed him. He told police that the attacker called him by his name and explained he was there because Albee was on the sex offender list.

“Albee reported the man had a notebook containing a list of names,” prosecutors wrote.

Two days after the first attack, Andres Barbosa — also a registered sex offender — reported to police that he had been robbed and attacked by a man with “shoulder-length hair and a black leather jacket” carrying a hammer. The attacker, who was allegedly accompanied by two women, told Barbosa he was there because of his “past crimes.”

On June 29, Wesley Demarest and Stanley Brown reported to police that a man had broken into their home and attacked Demarest with a hammer, seriously injuring him. In similar fashion to the other attacks, Vukovich told Demarest he had found him on the list of registered sex offenders in Alaska, the release stated.

Vukovich was pulled over during a traffic stop as officers were responding to Demarest’s home. In his car, police found the notebook with the victims’ names and items stolen from each of the victims homes.

He is charged with three class A felonies, four class B felonies and 11 class C felonies. If convicted, Vukovich could face 35 years total for the combined crimes.

His bail was set at $10,000 , plus a court-appointed third party custody required for his release.

A 23-year-old Anchorage resident was arraigned this week on a charge of embezzling from a credit union.

Federal prosecutors say Shanice Mano took more than $100,000 from her former employer, Credit Union 1.

Mano was a teller at the credit union.

Prosecutors say she accessed customer accounts without authority and transferred money to accounts that she controlled.

The FBI investigated the case.

Mano was arrested Monday and arraigned Tuesday in U.S. District Court. Online court records did not list her attorney within the federal public defender’s office.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Police have charged an Anchorage man with two counts of murder following a late night stabbing, according to a Thursday morning release.

Around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Anchorage Police Department was called to a “possible homicide” at the 900 block of East 46th Court in Midtown. When officers arrived, they found 33-year-old Kelly Frederick being held on the ground by two people, the release states.

According to police, they entered Frederick’s apartment and found the body of a person with multiple stab wounds. Witnesses told police they heard a disturbance in the apartment and called police when they confronted him and saw “blood on his hands.”

Cops arrested Frederick and charged him with first- and second-degree murder. According to APD’s release, he is being held without bail at the Anchorage Correctional Complex.

Police stated they don’t know the identity of the person found dead in the apartment. The medical examiner’s office took custody of the body and will attempt identification through fingerprints.

This is a developing story; please check back for updates.

The mother of a 4-year-old girl, who went missing in Spenard on Wednesday, is charged with child neglect, according to Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Jennifer Castro.

According to Castro, the child’s mother was intoxicated and had passed out. A family friend saw it and took the girl to her home. The friend texted the child’s mother, but she never checked her phone and saw the message, Castro said.

At 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Anchorage police issued a community Nixle alert, asking for help locating Alyiah Touyon, who had last been seen at her home on the 3000 block of Outta Place around 2 p.m.

Police originally believed Touyon had left her home on foot.

Almost an hour after the first Nixle, police reported the child was at a nearby residence and had returned home safely.