Updated at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 1
The 19-year-old woman who was shot during a party in Fairbanks early Sunday morning has died in an Anchorage hospital. The family of Janet Barragan took the young woman off life support Wednesday morning.
Her aunt, Gisela Rodriguez, said she was a wonderful person who didn’t deserve to die.
“If you needed something, she was there for you. Always helpful, always very resourceful, very supportive, well loved,” Rodriguez said.
In a dispatch Wednesday, Alaska State Troopers stated the agency was notified that Barragan had died. The two suspects involved in the incident were arrested Monday afternoon in Anchorage and have been identified as 20-year-old Levi Skulstad, of Fairbanks, and 17-year-old Lewis Harvin, of Fort Wainwright.
Skulstad was arraigned in Anchorage jail court Wednesday on charges of hindering prosecution.
According to a criminal complaint filed against Harvin, Skulstad was the getaway driver for Harvin.
In the complaint, AST Sgt. Lee Bruce cited witnesses saying several men got into a fight after a woman was “physically assaulted” by a male partygoer. The fight moved outside into the street near the intersection of Drake Street and Steelhead Road and continued until Harvin pulled out a revolver, fired a couple of shots into the air then fired several into the crowd, Bruce states.
Barragan was standing outside in the crowd when she was struck in the neck by a bullet. She was flown to Anchorage in critical condition.
Barragan’s aunt said the family was in shock over what happened.
“It’s a major tragedy,” she said. “It’s a great loss for everybody here in the community, for her family, [for her] boyfriend’s family.”
Barragan had just graduated from Lathrop High School in Fairbanks and planned to go to college. Her body will be transported to Texas where her family is from.
Harvin was originally charged with first-degree assault. Wednesday’s release from AST stated they notified the district attorney of Barragan’s death and Harvin is now charged as an adult with felony assault.
Additional charges could be filed against Harvin and Skulstad in light of Barragan’s death.
Investigators are asking witnesses who were at the party on Drake Street at the time of the shooting to contact them at 907-451-5100.
KTVA’s Alexis Fernandez contributed to this report.
