Anthony George Jenkins-Alexie, the man accused of shooting Fairbanks police Sgt. Allen Brandt, was arraigned in court Wednesday. Charging documents released at the hearing reveal new details in the case, including an alleged confession penned by Jenkins-Alexie.
Sgt. Allen Brandt. Photo: City of Fairbanks
Brandt survived the encounter with Jenkins-Alexie and was able to provide details to police about the shooting. In the charging documents, Brandt told police he first saw Jenkins-Alexie on Seventh Avenue on his way to investigate reports of shots fired at the Westmark Hotel in downtown Fairbanks. He told investigators he “believed that this male may have heard or been involved with the shots fired call,” so he stopped to talk to him, the documents explained.
As soon as Brandt’s vehicle stopped, dashcam footage released from the Fairbanks Police Department shows a man in dark clothing come toward the vehicle and cross in front of it, allegedly holding a gun pointed at the driver’s side of the vehicle. Police said it was Jenkins-Alexie and that he opened fire on Brandt, who ducked out of his vehicle to hide behind it for cover. He fired back at Jenkins-Alexie, but eventually collapsed because of his injuries, investigators said in court documents.
At that point, Jenkins-Alexie took Brandt’s gun from him and tried to take ammunition magazines from Brandt’s belt, investigators wrote.
“When the suspect could not remove the magazines, he began to stomp on Sgt. Brandt’s head,” they stated. “Sgt. Brandt was able to stand up and gain distance from the suspect, before collapsing. The suspect was following Sgt. Brandt and mocking him.”
Police said Jenkins-Alexie fled the scene in Brandt’s patrol car and abandoned it a few blocks away on Eighth Avenue. Court documents showed one of the rear tires’ was flat. Another dashcam video released by FPD purportedly shows Jenkins-Alexie crossing over the front end of the car as he walked away from it.
Finding the shooter
While checking the vehicle, police found Brandt’s weapon and a 9mm Ruger pistol, believed to belong to the suspect. Shell casings found at the scene where Brandt was shot and in front of the Westmark Hotel were from a 9mm gun, according to charging documents. Numerous bullet holes were found in the hotel’s exterior and two bullets went through the windows of hotel rooms, one of which was occupied. No one in the room was hurt, police confirmed.
Detectives found clothes and ammo believed to belong to the suspect on Eighth Avenue, down the road from the where the patrol car was abandoned. In one of the pockets, they found fragments of glass. Investigators noted in the charging documents that Brandt’s driver side window had been shattered during the shooting.
Anthony Jenkins-Alexie at his arraignment
Two tips also helped FPD’s investigation, charging documents show. The first came in to Crime Stoppers two days after the shooting. The unnamed tipster said a man named “Antman” was saying he “shot a cop.” The informant identified Antman as Anthony Jenkins, investigators added.
That same day, another person reported that an hour before the shooting, he’d been walking downtown and was accosted by someone who said his name was Antman. That man showed him a gun in his waistband, the caller told police, and when the victim looked him up on social media, he saw his name was Anthony Jenkins, according to court documents.
Police looked Jenkins-Alexie up on the Alaska Public Safety Information Network and found he had an officer safety warning indicating he had previously threatened to shoot law enforcement officers.
Police said they spotted Jenkins-Alexie walking near Second Avenue and Clay Street on Tuesday and took him into custody without incident.
Interview with police
Two detectives spoke with Jenkins-Alexie at FPD headquarters immediately following his arrest. He waived his Miranda rights and agreed to speak with them, court documents claim.
Jenkins-Alexie initially denied having anything to do with the shooting or even owning any guns in recent years, according to the charging documents. He later said “I’m beat” after officers searching his home alerted the detectives they had found what appeared to be a confession letter written by Jenkins-Alexie.
“The confession is handwritten on 3 pages of notebook paper,” investigators wrote. “The letter begins with, ‘My name is Anthony George Jenkins-Alexie, AKA ‘Antman’.’ The letter contained accurate information that had not been publicly released. This included the model number of the weapon used to shoot Sgt. Brandt.”
Jenkins-Alexie told the interviewing detectives he had fired the shots outside of the hotel, according to charging documents.
“Jenkins admitted to shooting Sgt. Brandt and his motivating factor was vengeance,” investigators noted.
He also admitted to taking Brandt’s car and abandoning it, and then changing his clothes on Eighth Avenue to dispose of evidence, investigators noted.
During his interview, Jenkins-Alexie asked for paper and a pen to write an apology letter to Brandt, court documents explained. The letter’s content was included in charging documents, but with two omissions:
Allen Brandt
I am deeply sorry. I owe you an apology…you….your wife….&your kids. I am mental just a little bit…you didn’t deserve it…I was seeking vengeance from FPD for taking my relatives lives and closest friends. I was wrong. But…my people and community was all talk. So after a few heavy drinks..I snapped. Please forgive me. [sentence omitted] That’s all it took. My violence caused you & your family nightmares. I’m deeply sorry. Choose a safer line of work. Be there for your loved ones. [sentence omitted] I’m reasonable, logical, but yet mental. I try to live and coexist without my pain/meds and mental meds. I can’t do it. Please visit me for a face to face apology and hear me out.
I’m sorry
[Signed] Anthony Antman Jenkins
Police spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch said in a phone interview Wednesday that police couldn’t comment on the letter’s omissions, saying the decision to not include parts was made by the District Attorney’s office. The Fairbanks District Attorney was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.
Police charged Jenkins-Alexie with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree vehicle theft, second-degree theft of a firearm and tampering with physical evidence. He is being held in the Fairbanks Correctional Center.
Some of the attendees at the arraignment included law enforcement officers
Support from Alaskans
Brandt was sent to Anchorage for treatment of his injuries. According to court documents, he was shot six times.
“He was shot twice in his right leg, once in his left leg, once in his right foot, a grazing wound on his right knee and one shot was stopped by his ballistic vest and later recovered,” police noted in the charges. “At least two pieces of shrapnel entered his left eye and it is probable that he will lose sight in that eye.”
Since arriving in Anchorage, officers from the Anchorage Police Department have stayed with Brandt at the hospital, along with a Fairbanks officer, according to a statement read by Deputy Chief of Police Brad Johnson at a press conference on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the Fairbanks Police Department Employee’s Association gave an update on Brandt’s condition via a YouCaring account for him:
“We wanted to give you a quick update: Sgt Brandt was up walking a bit and has seen some light in his injured eye. Given the extent of his injuries this is good news. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers. We also would like to thank everyone who helped FPD find Sgt Brandt’s attacker and put him in jail.”
Since the YouCaring account was set up, Alaskans have donated more than $26,500 to help Brandt and his family.
KTVA 11’s Shannon Riddle contributed to this report.
The post An update on wounded Fairbanks police Sgt. Brandt and the man accused of shooting him appeared first on KTVA 11.
