A driver involved in a fatal collision on the Old Glenn Highway last year is awaiting trial for multiple charges that include murder and driving under the influence.

The May 27, 2015 crash occurred between two vehicles near Monastery Drive in Eagle River, one driven by 23-year-old Xeng Yang. Anchorage police said Yang’s Subaru Legacy crossed the center line and collided head on with a Toyota Rav4 traveling in the opposite direction.

Yang’s passenger, 22-year-old Yong Lor, was killed in the crash. Yang was hospitalized, as was someone from the other vehicle.

Shortly after the crash, police released a statement saying alcohol and speed were factors in the crash. On June 24, 2015, charges were filed against Yang, who was arraigned on June 26. He was temporarily held under a bail of $10,000 cash corporate with a requirement for a third-party custodian.

Yang was later indicted on a number of serious charges relating to the crash, including second-degree murder, manslaughter, driving under the influence, and two counts each of first-, second- and fourth-degree assault, online court records show.

Lor’s death was one of 28 homicides investigated by the Anchorage Police Department last year.

A former Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson soldier accused of attacking multiple women and sexually assaulting some of them in 2013 pleaded guilty Monday to charges related to the crimes.

Two sexual assault victims reported the attacks to police in mid-July 2013. The victims described the suspect very similarly, an affidavit from Anchorage police officer John Vandervalk stated. Both victims said the suspect followed them in the Mountain View area for a short time before approaching and pointing a gun at them. In both cases, the suspect left behind DNA evidence that was collected and analyzed at the Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory.

With a composite sketch created by each victim’s description, police had an idea of the suspect’s appearance. On July 20, a few days after the first two attacks, a patrol officer spotted a man matching the suspect’s description following a woman in Mountain View. When the suspect, identified as 27-year-old Tony Bullock, noticed the officer, he “looked away and lit a cigarette,” Vandervalk explained.

The officer stopped to talk to Bullock, who eventually agreed to be photographed, including a sleeve tattoo on his right arm that was consistent with the victims’ descriptions, according to Vandervalk.

On Aug. 11, a woman called 911 to report a man had tried to sexually assault her, Vandervalk stated. She told police the man followed her and then used physical violence to get her to cooperate, but she escaped while he was busy opening a condom. The victim gave police his license plate number, which was registered to Bullock.

Vandervalk noted all three victims were of similar build and appearance, although the last victim was older than the other victims, who were teenagers.

Bullock was brought in for questioning and waived his rights during the interview. He denied being involved in any of the crimes, but admitted to meeting one of the victims on the street, Vandervalk said. During the interview, Bullock drank from a cup, which he left behind and which was collected for DNA evidence.

Vandervalk said in his affidavit that the DNA from the cup matched the DNA samples collected from the first two victims.

When Bullock was first arrested, he was charged for each separate act he forced on his victims, as well as multiple counts of assault. He pleaded guilty Monday to two consolidated counts of first-degree sexual assault for the incidents involving the first two victims, as well as a single count of fourth-degree assault.

A statement from Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion said Bullock has been in custody since his initial arrest and is not eligible for bail while waiting for his sentencing. Superior Court Judge Michael Wolverton is scheduled to sentence Bullock on Dec. 16. Campion said Bullock faces a presumptive range of 27 to 70 years in prison, but the maximum penalty of up to 99 years in prison for the sexual assaults and an additional year for the assault is possible and based on the judge’s discretion.

Bullock was a specialist with the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Richardson for his first duty assignment beginning in March 2012, Alaska Public Media reports.

Early Monday morning, the playground at Valley of the Moon Park was filled with families. Nearby, bicyclists rode down the trail. But Yuki Varnell, who comes here regularly with her daughter, says there are fewer people than usual following Sunday’s double homicide.

“Knowing something like this could happen and having the kids around, I would have to be more aware,” Varnell said.

Police said one man’s body was found on the bike trail in the park; another male victim’s body was found nearby. One of the victims was identified Monday as 25-year-old Bryant Dehusson, who also went by Brie, a friend told KTVA. The Anchorage Police Department said it is working on reaching the family of the other victim, after which his name will be released.

Police have not said how they died, but several people in the neighborhood told KTVA they heard gunshots early Sunday.

“It’s pretty disconcerting to find out the next day that two people were shot and killed at the park,” said Jerry Ross, who said he heard at least six shots, perhaps more.

Police have not named a suspect. One resident said people should wait before blaming someone from a nearby homeless camp.

“I haven’t had any negative encounters with homeless people and I’ve got [three] girls,” said John O’Hara, who has lived in the area for 16 years and said he was not planning to change his routine because of the killings. “It’s an unfortunate occurrence, but we rely on our police to make this world a safer place, so I put it in their hands.”

There have been 29 homicides so far in 2016, more than in all of 2015.

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

Gov. Bill Walker says the state’s number of untested rape kits is a problem, and he’s on a mission to figure out what to do about it.

Last September, he asked every law enforcement agency across the state to report their inventory of untested sexual assault kits. All Alaska State Trooper posts reported their numbers and some police departments did as well, bringing the total to at least 3,400 untested kits.

But only 17 out of 52 police departments have sent in their inventory. The Anchorage Police Department is one of them. They have 1,691 kits, some dating back to 1993. While 35 other departments — including larger ones like the Fairbanks Police Department — have yet to report how many untested kits they have.

The governor can’t demand an audit without state law behind him. He would have to get a bill passed before he can force every department to comply.

“When we saw the numbers of how many were not being processed, we wanted to, you know, find out how large is the problem? How much is out there that we don’t know about?” he said during a recent interview with KTVA.

Michelle Collins, a forensic biology supervisor at the state’s Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, said a common misconception is that they have thousands of kits there waiting to be tested, adding that they can only test what’s sent to them. She said the exact number changes daily as they process kits and receive new ones, but they only have an average backlog of about 60 kits at any given time that have not been processed. The rest of the untested kits in the state are in the possession of the law enforcement agency that collected them.

Once a kit is successfully processed, if it produces a suspect DNA sample, the sample gets entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). They can then cross-reference cases, and even tie new crimes to old ones. That means a kit collecting dust at a police department could be the missing piece of evidence keeping a rapist free.

“When there is a serial offender, it often is not known on the front end that certain cases are related, and it’s not until profiles from each of those cases are entered into the database and match each other, that we realize and then inform law enforcement that they have multiple cases linked to the same individual,” Collins explained.

She said as they’ve worked on decreasing their backload over the years, they’ve had a significant increase in “hits” in the system connecting multiple crimes.

“In all of 2015, we reported, I believe, 63 matches to law enforcement agencies,” she said. “We sent them a letter and said, ‘Hey this [DNA] profile in your case matched this offender, this arrestee who was also in the database.’ Already this year, we’ve sent over 80 of those letters.”

Two recent cases highlighted the importance of processing rape kits for DNA samples. Clifford Lee, an Anchorage man, pleaded guilty recently to sexually assaulting eight women between 2001 and 2014. He was caught after a string of assaults in 2014, but a DNA sample collected after his arrest connected him to other, older cases. Similarly, a former soldier was arrested after a woman was attacked, and a DNA sample connected him to two other sexual assaults for which he might not have otherwise been charged.

APD spokesperson Renee Oistad said there are several reasons why a kit may not get turned in to the lab:

• It’s a sexual assault case where both parties agreed sex occurred – the disagreement is over whether or not it was consensual.
• The victim either recants their story or refuses to cooperate with the investigation.
• Either the suspect or the victim dies.
• The kit is taken from a deceased person at autopsy wherein cause of death has not yet been determined.  During the course of the investigation it’s determined sexual assault had nothing to do with the death.
• It’s discovered at a later date that the sexual assault was a false report.
• If the defendant takes a plea deal.

Amanda Price, the governor’s crime policy and prevention advisor, said they initially set out to find out how many rape kits were untested and why. But through their investigation, they uncovered flaws in the larger system of dealing with sexual assaults, like some police departments disposing of evidence. She said taking a deep look at the numbers is just the start of widespread change that needs to take place, to make the system more “victim-centered.”

Price said it’ll take years, but they might end up processing the backlogged kits at an outside lab and bringing in cold case investigators and prosecutors to get caught up. A large undertaking, given the state’s current fiscal crisis.

KTVA 11′s Daniella Rivera can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter.

While mystery surrounds what led to two people being killed in Valley of the Moon Park early Sunday, a clearer picture is emerging of one of the victims. Bryant De Husson, who was known by friends as Brie, was described as a fierce advocate for human rights.

De Husson did not identify solely with either gender and preferred to be referenced using the pronouns “they” and “them.” They attended West Anchorage High School before traveling across the world. Their father said they were fascinated by agriculture, and went to Europe to learn more about it.

“He is going to be completely, solely, immensely missed,” said Gordon De Husson.

Brie De Husson was actively involved in the “Occupy” movement in Anchorage five years ago. Gordon De Husson said they were a proud advocate for a number of issues.

Gordon De Husson said he and Brie De Husson’s friends are counting on police to solve the crime.

“They will watch this with open eyes and hope that this is handled with [a] professional level,” Gordon De Husson said.

He said like others, he was not sure what happened early Sunday. Moreover, he did not know whether Brie De Husson knew the other victim, 34-year-old Kevin Turner.

“I believe he ran into an incident in which either he intervened or he witnessed and became nothing more than a casualty of a senseless murder by a coward,” he said of Brie De Husson.

A memorial service is planned for Brie De Husson Thursday evening at Westchester Lagoon.

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

The parents of a special needs child are suing the Anchorage School District (ASD) after they say a teacher’s aide sexually abused their son in 2014, and it took the district more than a month to investigate.

Julianti Clarke, 62, was charged with harassment in May 2015 after video surveillance at Begich Middle School showed she was abusing the child in the lunchroom. Those charges were later dropped, but court documents in the case describe a disturbing scene, which involves Clarke stroking the child’s genitals over his clothes. The documents also say Clarke picked up items from the table and stuck them down the back of his shirt.

The victim’s attorney, Mike Kramer, said watching the video was difficult enough for the family, but it wasn’t until he saw unedited footage from the Anchorage Police Department that he realized the case got even worse. Kramer says video provided by the Anchorage School District intentionally left out a portion of footage that showed Clarke had another victim.

“At least one other child was receiving similar mistreatment,” he said. “We obviously don’t know the identity of that child or whether his parents were contacted, or whether police were even notified about that, but it’s disturbing that we were given a edited video tape that removed that particularly disturbing section.”

Kramer said the camera showed his own client forced to watch the other child being abused at the same table.

“The whole time she’s doing it to the other kid, he’s pounding himself in the head with his fist,” Kramer said. “And that showed us that this was something that she was doing that not only affected the kid she was at the time abusing, but also the way she had conditioned our client, who was having a significant and visual negative impact on him having to watch.”

ASD spokesperson Heidi Embley told KTVA the district was unable to respond to questions about the missing video clip and potential second victim because its attorney was out of the office on Tuesday.

District Attorney Clint Campion he is unaware of any similar cases.

“I don’t know if there were other cases that weren’t referred to us or if there’s another case, but as far as I know, we didn’t charge her with any other abuse or alleged abuse,” Campion said.

When asked about the delay in addressing the reported abuse, Embley provided the following response:

In Sept. 2014, an ASD employee notified a school administrator of concerns that Ms. Clarke refused to open a bag of chips for a student. The administrator reviewed the concern and found no inappropriate conduct. A second, unrelated complaint of similar behavior by Ms. Clarke was reported about two weeks later (in October). That second complaint also was reviewed by a school administrator. The administrator then took additional action to further investigate beyond the first and second complaint and discovered inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature. The day of that finding, Ms. Clarke was immediately placed on leave and school administrators notified APD and OCS.

Immediate action was taken the day the interaction of questionable sexual contact was discovered; a report was made to APD and the employee was placed on leave and then terminated for cause.

Embley said Clarke’s employment with ASD was terminated on Oct. 28, 2014.

Kramer said the victim’s family has been trying to reach an agreement with ASD for the past six months, but decided to take legal action when the district refused to provide the family with a copy of the September report.

“They’ve refused to share that with us, we’ve asked many times,” Kramer said, adding that ASD told the family its surveillance cameras are cleared every 30 days, making it impossible to access video captured prior to September. ”Our concern is that had they responded to this in September when they should have, they would have been able to confirm that the abuse had been going on since the start of school in August.”

Under a November 2015 plea deal, Clarke performed 48 hours of community service in exchange for dismissal of her charges of harassment.

“In the last year and a half our office has moved more toward, just generally, for lower level offenses, just trying to come up with alternatives to jail, alternatives to incarceration and trying to find out ways to ensure that the community can be held — that the community’s safer while also holding people accountable and this sort of falls in line with that,” Campion said of the deal.

The district attorney said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Clarke with a sex crime because the video didn’t prove interaction of a sexual nature between Clarke and the child beyond a reasonable doubt.

“A couple different prosecutors looked at it and said that it was not entirely clear whether there was any type of sexual contact with the child,” Campion said.

KTVA 11′s Liz Raines can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter.

Connie Jacobs-Mehner lost her mother, Aurora “Rory” Landers, in June. It was a harrowing time for her family, who had just lost their stepfather, Tom Landers, in April.

“Our parents were soul mates,” said Jacobs-Mehner, one of their daughters who now lives in Arizona.

She said the month after her mother passed, the family’s grieving was compounded by a significant material loss: their parents’ South Anchorage home was burglarized. Jewelry and televisions were stolen, along with Tom Landers’s ashes.

“We just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “To take our items, it’s sad. But to take our father’s ashes? We were just devastated.”

She said police investigated the crime, but have so far been unable to determine who broke in. The Anchorage Police Department confirmed that no arrests have been made.

Jacobs-Mehner said the thieves used her parents’ truck as a getaway vehicle. It was eventually found abandoned, and Jacobs-Mehner’s sister, Paget Jacobs-Plunk, said she had to pay $400 to retrieve it from the impound lot.

Now, the family is asking for the ashes back, “no questions asked,” according to Jacobs-Mehner.

“This is something our family [and] the grandkids need. We need closure,” she said.

The family is hoping to hold a memorial service if the ashes are returned.

If you have information about the ashes, you can email the family by clicking here.

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

In an unusual alert to the public Tuesday, the Anchorage Police Department warned people to be careful while out late at night and early in the morning, noting five recent violent deaths happened during those times.

Anchorage has seen 25 homicides so far this year — not including two officer-involved shootings — the same number APD reported for all of 2015.

“Unfortunately, people are making the choice to use violence to solve their problems instead of words, that’s really what we’re seeing,” said APD spokesperson Renee Oistad.

Of the 25 homicides, police haven’t charged a suspect in 12. And in a unique case, they’ve charge one suspect but are still looking for others.

Of the 25 victims, 13 were between the ages of 17 and 25. And in nine of those cases, no charges have been filed against a suspect.

When asked if APD is considering the possibility of a serial offender, Oistad said, “Right now we don’t have anything to connect the unsolved crimes. We’re going to look of course at which crimes were committed by which people, if they’re related, if they’re not. Obviously those are all things we’re going to look into.”

They’re now warning people to be careful if they’re going to be in isolated areas like parks and bike paths at night, and suggest traveling in groups with friends.

“With any crime, regardless of what it is, generally speaking, night time is more dangerous than day time,” Oistad said. “It just is because night time offers more cover, obviously the darkness.”

KTVA 11′s Daniella Rivera can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter.

Anchorage police arrested a man early Friday morning after he drove away from a traffic stop and crashed the vehicle shortly afterward.

According to the Anchorage Police Department (APD), just before 2:00 a.m. Friday an officer stopped 24-year-old Quentin Demoski near Arctic Boulevard and West Benson Boulevard. The officer walked up to the vehicle and spoke with the Demoski, who turned the wheels and drove away, hitting the officer in the arm as he did so.

Demoski fled north on Arctic Boulevard. Shortly thereafter, another officer saw the vehicle speeding and then crash into a guardrail near West 17th Avenue. APD stated Demoski got out of the vehicle and ran left on foot. At 2:50 a.m., K-9 officer tracked the 24-year-old to an alley near the 1400 block of H Street, where he was arrested by police.

Demoski has been charged with operating under the influence, third-degree assault, resisting arrest, driving with a revoked license, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.

The vehicle was heavily damaged in the crash and will be towed from the scene. No major injuries were reported in connection with this incident.

Courtesy of the Anchorage Police Department

The Anchorage Police Department (APD) is concerned a man they arrested for crimes against children charges could have additional victims.

On Sept. 1 APD’s Crime’s Against Children Unit received reports that 21-year-old Tyler Rifley had inappropriate contact with “multiple teenage boys,” who were between 12 and 14 years old, police said in a dispatch.

“On August 31, 2016 a mother reported to police that her 13-year-old son had been associating with Rifley. It was reported that her son and other minors had hung out with Rifley on multiple occasions and he had asked them for sexual favors,” APD wrote.

APD said on one occasion Rifley began showing pornography to one of the teens and asked a teen for sexual contact.

Rifley is charged with distribution of indecent material to minors, plus contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

His bail was set at $15,000. He was taken to the Anchorage Correctional Complex.

APD said there is “concern” that Rifley could have had other victims.

Anyone who’d like to come forward or who has more information is being urged to call detective James Williams at 907-729-7869.

Last updated at 4:40 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 5

One person is dead and two others were hospitalized after a shooting in a Fairbanks nightclub early Sunday morning.

The victims have been identified as 22-year-old Breannah Mitchell, 25-year-old Jesse Anderson and 27-year-old Michael Jeremy Hodges.

Multiple people called the Fairbanks Police Department around 2:37 a.m. to report a fight and gunfire in the Bojangles nightclub, a statement from FPD said Sunday. More calls came in about shots fired outside the club while officers were responding.

Officers found two gunshot wound victims, Hodges and Anderson, when they arrived at the club, the statement said. EMS transported the two to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where Hodges was pronounced dead.

Another statement from FPD said good Samaritans at the club tried to save Hodges.

Anderson was listed in critical condition, according to police.

FPD spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch said in a phone interview that Mitchell arrived at the hospital by her own means and was suffering minor injuries from a gunshot wound. She was treated and later released.

Information regarding a suspect has not been released. Police said no arrests had been made as of Monday.

Wildlife troopers are reminding people who have been advertising wild game as dog food that the practice is illegal.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports authorities notice a spike in improper uses of game as the hunting season approaches.

Sgt. David Bump said people reported online posts advertising the illegal sale of game and sport-caught fish.

It is against the law to sell game meat or feed it to dogs.

Bump said warnings rather than citations were given out over the past week.

Dogs can be fed bones, hides and other animal parts that hunters are not required to salvage.

The law restricts which types and parts of fish can be used for sale or bait.

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

Alexandra Reynolds

Courtesy Anchorage Police Department

Midtown Center Halfway House

Courtesy Google Maps

Anchorage police are asking the community to keep an eye out for another halfway house inmate who has escaped.

Staff at the Midtown Center, located on Margies Place, discovered 31-year-old Alexandra Reynolds was missing at 2:40 a.m., police spokeswoman Renee Oistad said in a statement.

Oistad said Reynolds had been recently convicted of vehicle theft and fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance. She now faces an additional charge of escape.

Reynolds is 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds, according to Oistad. She has brown hair and eyes. Oistad said it is not known what she was wearing when she escaped.

Anyone with information on Reynolds’ whereabouts is asked to call police at 907-786-8900.

A Napaskiak man is in custody three weeks after Alaska State Troopers say he assaulted a woman with a knife in her home while children were nearby.

Bethel troopers began looking for 42-year-old Wilson Beaver after they began investigating a burglary and assault on Aug. 15, according to an online trooper dispatch.

“[Beaver] entered a residence in Napaskiak, put a knife to a female’s throat while children were in the residence, and threatened her with violence in exchange for sex,” the dispatch stated.

Troopers said the victim managed to get Beaver out of the room, but was injured in the process.

Beaver eventually fled and wasn’t found until Sept. 4, when he was arrested in Atmautluak, the dispatch noted.

Troopers have charged him with first- and second-degree sexual assault, third-degree assault and first-degree burglary. They took him to Bethel where he was booked without incident, troopers said.

Beaver is a registered sex offender and has been convicted of first-degree sexual assault and multiple counts of burglary and theft in varying degrees.

Atmautluak is northwest of Napaskiak and Bethel in Western Alaska.

If homicide numbers continue to climb, 2016 could set a new record for homicides in one year. But the criteria for determining the actual homicide count can get a bit muddy.

The number of homicides is seen by many as a measure of how safe our community is, but that number changes depending on how you define the term “homicide.”

While going through this year’s homicide data for Anchorage, KTVA counted at least 30 homicides APD has made the public aware of during 2016. But APD spokesperson Renee Oistad says their official count is at 25, because they don’t include officer-involved shootings or traffic-related deaths.

Many law enforcement departments, including Alaska State Troopers and Fairbanks police, define a homicide simply as one person killing another person, whether it’s accidental, on purpose or justified.

“So of course, officer-involved shootings are included as homicides,” explained FPD public information officer Doug Welborn in an email to KTVA.

Welborn said Fairbanks had seen three homicides before Sunday’s fatal nightclub shooting, bringing the total to four, including an officer-involved shooting on Tuesday.

In addition to two police-involved shootings in Anchorage this year, KTVA counted three fatal hit-and-run incidents.

“We do not include car crashes with homicide numbers,” Oistad explained.

Looking through homicide numbers dating back to 2012, examples of vehicular homicides APD doesn’t count on their official homicide list include the death of bicyclist Jeff Dusenbury, who was hit and killed by teen driver Alexandra Ellis, even though she pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide.

They also don’t count the 2013 deaths of teens Brooke McPheters and Jordyn Durr, killed by drunk driver Stacy Graham, who pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder.

But this year they’re making an exception and including a collision that left 19-year-old Chaduer Chuol dead. He was ejected from his vehicle when he crashed after speeding away from people in a truck behind him shooting. Oistad said during an interview she isn’t sure why that crash is being included.

When asked why they’re excluding a fatal 2015 vehicle crash for which a driver is facing charges of DUI, manslaughter, and second-degree murder, Oistad said in an email, “They don’t include traffic stuff in the official homicide count. So yes, that includes the Old Glenn [Highway] crash.”

She said in a later email the official homicide count only includes deaths caused by someone with “intent to cause harm.”

But they’re counting the shooting death of 17-year-old Xeryus Tate, even though DeAndrew Walker-Webster II told police he accidentally shot Tate while playing with a gun. Police charged him with manslaughter.

Walker-Webster posted a video on Facebook before turning himself in to police saying, “It was an accident,” and “I’d take the day back if I could.”

In an interview regarding another manslaughter case, APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro reminded viewers why in a manslaughter case, it doesn’t matter whether the suspect intended to hurt anyone.

“You have to realize if you’re going to be handling a weapon, if you’re going to be handling a gun and something happens, and you didn’t want it to happen, and you didn’t think it was gonna happen, but it does, you can be held criminally responsible for the outcome of that situation,” she said.

If someone engages in a behavior that could result in the harm or death of another person, state statutes allow their intent to cause harm to be taken into consideration, as well as their lack of intent. If someone engages in a behavior that they know could hurt someone else, like drunk driving, that can be used in court to argue they had intent, or at least acted recklessly. That’s why some suspects face murder charges and others are charged with manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide, like Ellis.

In Walker-Webster’s case, his intent didn’t matter, raising the question: Why does it matter in other cases?

Sunday, KTVA asked police why they aren’t adding crashes for which people have been charged with murder and manslaughter to the official homicide lists, and who in the department is responsible for deciding which crimes get counted as homicides.  Oistad responded in an email, “Generally speaking, traffic-related deaths are not included in the homicide count. I don’t have the specific reasoning for you and there isn’t anyone here today whom I can ask.”

KTVA 11′s Daniella Rivera can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter. 

Residents near Valley of the Moon Park are sending a desperate plea for help to the Anchorage mayor’s office, saying the rise in crime is now unmanageable and they don’t feel safe. This comes just two weeks after a double homicide near the bike trail in Valley of the Moon Park, and a warning from police for people to be extra careful going outside at night.

A memorial for one of the latest double homicide victims, 34-year-old Kevin Turner, placed near the bike trail where he died, serves as a somber reminder to those passing by that the park has seen violence.

“I was a lot more comfortable before these things started happening. And that includes what happened at Ship Creek and what happened here recently, and at Point Woronzof,” said Teresa Arnold, referencing three double homicides in Anchorage this year that occurred on the trail system. ”You put all those things together, and it becomes pretty alarming and shocking.”

More than 90 residents signed the letter to the mayor, pleading for help.

“There’s just definitely this feeling of not feeling safe in the neighborhood,” said Heather Knowlan, noting homeless camps have been in the woods near the park for as long as she can remember, but now people are getting bold  and brazen, sleeping just a few feet off the trail or in the middle of the park in broad daylight.

Arnold and Knowlan didn’t sign the letter, but live near the park and say they hope something can be done to make the area safer. Arnold said she’s experienced the rise in petty crime.

The letter says, “These property crimes, and APD’s lack of response, have been frustrating—but, to some degree, manageable. There are steps we can take to protect our property. We lock our doors obsessively, even if we’re just in the backyard mowing the grass. We have our packages delivered to our workplaces instead of our homes. Many of us have bought locking mailboxes, installed motion-sensing lights, and are researching security systems. But the surge in violent crime is not something we can compensate for. Within the past two weeks alone, in our traditionally safe and quiet neighborhood, an armed robbery has taken place, a woman has been stabbed with a machete, and two men have been shot dead.”

“People are finally starting to get to their breaking point where they’re tired and they wanna do something about it,” said Knowlan.

For some, that means talking. Rumors are starting to swirl on social media. One man claiming sources inside the justice system know about a serial killer.

In an interview last week, KTVA asked if APD is considering the possibility of a serial offender. Spokesperson Renee Oistad responded, “Right now, we don’t have anything to connect the unsolved crimes. We’re going to look of course at which crimes were committed by which people, if they’re related. Obviously, those are all things we’re going to look into.”

She confirmed in an email Monday, that stands true.

“The information we have put out thus far is all we are going to at this time. We have no further comment on open and active investigations,” she said.

What people are saying on social media may not be real, but the fear in Arnold’s neighborhood is.

“I’m saddened and disappointed that this community that I grew up in has come to this,” she said.

The mayor’s office said in an email Monday night, “We will be responding with a letter. APD and the mayor are organizing a neighborhood meeting, as well as meeting with community councils in the coming weeks.”

KTVA 11′s Daniella Rivera can be reached via email or on Facebook and Twitter. 

Updated at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 6

Police in Anchorage have charged a 20-year-old man with the death of a pedestrian early Monday morning.

In a release Tuesday, the Anchorage Police Department (APD) stated the driver in the collision was Quinton Molinar.

Police say they received a call Monday evening from a man who stated he was the driver in the hit-and-run at the intersection of the New Seward Highway and Northern Lights Boulevard. He was arrested and taken to the police department for questioning.

[Related: New Seward and Northern Lights intersection closed due to fatal hit-and-run]

In charging documents against Molinar, assistant district attorney Daniel Shorey described Molinar’s actions during and after the crash, all of which Molinar admitted to in an interview with police. Molinar said he was driving with his mother to pick up pizza he ordered when he struck the victim, believed to be in the crosswalk on the eastern side of the intersection. Molinar crashed into a bus stop sign and onto the sidewalk on the other side of the intersection, according to Shorey.

Witnesses told police they saw Molinar get out of the vehicle and pull the victim out of his windshield, the affidavit said. Molinar told police he checked for a pulse and “felt a faint pulse,” but he left the victim on the ground and drove off.

In his interview with police, Molinar said he went directly home, parked his car and covered it with a tarp, according to Shorey. Molinar then threw away the clothes he’d worn in the crash.

His mother, who was also interviewed by police, said her son ran through every red light between the scene of the crash and their home. She said she didn’t know if he had been drinking before the crash, Shorey noted.

Molinar is charged with manslaughter, failure to render aid and tampering with evidence. He was taken to the Anchorage Correctional Complex where he is being held without bail. He was arraigned Tuesday on those charges, as well as for violating parole for a 2015 case.

In that incident, charging documents show he used a stun gun to shock a man “five or six times” and stole the man’s backpack. He was initially charged with first-degree robbery, a felony, but pleaded down to a charged of second-degree theft, online court documents revealed.

The victim’s name will not be released until next of kin have been notified, which police say they have not been able to do.

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

One person is in critical condition after he was shot early Wednesday morning in South Anchorage, according to the Anchorage Police Department (APD).

In a release, police wrote that just after 12 a.m. they responded to the 10200 block of Jamestown Drive. One caller told police someone had been shot, and other callers reported multiple shots fired.

Emergency responders arrived and found a male on the ground with gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital for treatment.

APD’s Robbery and Assault Unit is investigating. It was immediately unclear what circumstances lead to the incident.

APD spokesperson Jennifer Castro said the shooter has been identified and interviewed, but shortly before 9 a.m. no charges had been filled. According to Castro, investigators are still interviewing witnesses and investigating.

Police also responded to reports of two other shootings Tuesday night; one in East Anchorage and another in West Anchorage.

At 9:55 p.m. a caller reported two gunshots in the area of Oregon Drive, off of Spenard, while another person called about the same incident to report four gunshots, Castro said. Officers patrolled the area and found evidence of a shooting, but did hear by others in the area that it was fireworks instead.

Then at 11:30 p.m. APD received reports of gunshots near the 4100 block of Debarr Road. Castro said again officers patrolled the area, but didn’t find any further evidence — victims or property damage — of a shooting.

This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Christopher Delamar. Photo: Anchorage Police Department

ANCHORAGE — The Anchorage Police Department says there is concern a man accused of inappropriately touching a massage client has more victims than those who’ve already spoken with police.

Police said in a statement that they first began investigating 31-year-old Christopher Delamar after a female client called and reported he touched her inappropriately while giving her a massage.

Two other victims were identified, and police were able to gather enough evidence to charge him with three counts of first-degree harassment, police said.

Delamar was arrested and jailed on Sept. 7, but police said they’re concerned he may have additional victims, as he worked as a licensed massage therapist in various locations throughout Anchorage, according to police.

Anyone who feels they have been victimized by Delamar is encouraged to call APD. Det. Jeff Bell at 907-786-2411.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Federal authorities have arrested a Washington state man suspected of defrauding Alaskans by promising to share a pharmaceutical settlement if they helped pay his medical expenses.

Federal prosecutors in Anchorage say 55-year-old Floyd Mann, Jr. of Puyallup (pew-AL-up) bilked Alaskans out of $2.7 million and used it to gamble.

He is charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and eight counts of money laundering.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aunnie (AW-nee) Steward says Mann told victims he would receive a multimillion-dollar settlement from a class-action lawsuit.

He promised a substantial return from the settlement if victims paid his medical bills and other expenses related to the fictitious lawsuit.

He used money from victims to win more than $1 million at a casino.

Directory assistance did not list a phone number for Mann.

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