Last updated at 2:23 p.m. Sat. April 2
A 36-year-old man was charged Friday in connection with a South Anchorage home invasion earlier this week.
Police said Joseph Edmund Spindle has been charged with first-degree assault and robbery, as well as cruelty to animals and third-degree weapons misconduct.
Around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, police were called to the 8700 block of Sultana Drive. Dean Jones, the homeowner, had been shot and his dog was killed.
Police said Spindle carried a box as rang the doorbell of the Hillside home. He told Jones he had a package to deliver. When Jones opened the door, he pulled a gun on him, police said.
“Jones attempted to push [Spindle] over the railing, but was unsuccessful and the man shot him,” police said in court documents.
Spindle then shot Jones’ German shepherd inside and fled.
Jones was transported to a local hospital for treatment of his wound.
Police were also called to a burglary at a home on the 5300 block of Riverton Avenue. Among the items reported missing was a black Nissan sports car, which police said matched the vehicle Spindle used to flee the shooting. Police stated the victims of the burglary and car theft called Spindle their son.
Spindle was arrested Friday morning at a residence on the 4600 block of Spenard for violating his probation. Police searched his room and found a gun with ammunition matching that used in the shooting. He was taken to the Anchorage Correctional Complex and his initial bail was set at $20,000, plus a third-party custodian. Spindle has a history of criminal violence, with at least two assault convictions and another related to family violence, court records show.
