Updated at 2:42 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14
An 18-year-old told Anchorage investigators he was “mad” when he brutally beat an elderly Mountain View man over the head with a hammer during a string of violent September robberies, according to a criminal complaint filed earlier this month.
Shortly before 11 p.m., on Sept. 16, Donald Nelson called 911 and claimed several people were attempting to break into his Thompson Avenue home, according to the complaint. He told the 911 operator he didn’t know who the culprits were.
The court document states that Nelson asked police dispatch for help and told them he didn’t have anywhere to go. The responding dispatch personnel noted Nelson stopped talking and that they heard “banging noises like someone was being hit,” the court document says.
When officers found Nelson, he was unresponsive on the floor with head injuries. A bloody hammer was discovered near the victim. Personal belongings — like books, manuals and paperwork — had been tossed out of the window, court documents describe.
A woman also called police claiming she saw a group of people outside of Nelson’s home throwing rocks at the window and kicking the front door. The witness was unable to see the culprits’ faces or other descriptors, beside their clothing.
Not even an hour before Nelson was attacked, two other people were attacked and robbed in Mountain View. The victims in both of those attacks described four Samoan males.
Peter Albert was assaulted near Bunn Street for his cell phone, Quest card, Alaska ID and $5. Albert told police his attackers took turns assaulting him; the last man broke a Wild Turkey bourbon bottle on his forehead.
Albert suffered a broken nose and wrist, the document says.
Then, on North Bliss Street, Lovie Houston was assaulted for a $150 Walmart gift card. He suffered an injury to his lip.
In early-October, investigators were able to match hand and finger prints of Leti Lelilio to the crime scene of Nelson’s attack.
On Nov. 9 the 18-year-old was interviewed at Anchorage police headquarters.
Lelilio told investigators on the night of the attacks he had been drinking alcohol with four others — identified in court documents as SL, “J,” “Leeky” and “Ramo.”
Lelilio said they chased down Albert by Smoke King and “Leeky” tackled the man. He admitted to kicking the man, while the others assaulted him, the complaint says.
Then, he said, they walked to Holiday gas station, near the assault on Houston. Lelilio told investigators he didn’t participate in that attack, according to the complaint.
But, as the group walked by Nelson’s home, Lelilio told investigators he pointed the house out and told “J” a “marijuana dealer” lived there, so they began to knock and kick the door.
“He reported that he punched the older man in the chest and the older man went to the floor,” the complaint says. “He reported that the older man threw a hammer at him, which made him mad.”
So, Lelilio told investigators he retaliated and hit them Nelson “two or three times,” and that “J” also hit Nelson with the hammer.
They stole $50 of weed and Nelson’s pipe.
After the group left, Lelilio said, they met up later to smoke their stolen drugs.
Online court records show Lelilio was arraigned in Anchorage jail court last week and is expected back in court on Tuesday for a pre-indictment hearing.
It was immediately unclear if anyone else has been, or will be, charged in the attacks and robberies. The District Attorney’s office and the Anchorage Police Department were unable to immediately provide any additional details.
Megan Edge can be reached by email, on Twitter and Facebook.
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