Anchorage police have taken six people into custody so far in connection with two fatal shootings that occurred in January.
The two shootings, which occurred on Jan. 25 and Jan. 29, are connected by 19-year-old Makur Chan, who has been charged for his involvement in both incidents.
Above and below are timelines of the incidents, including witness statements and what police took into consideration before making the arrests.
Timeline of Events
Jan. 25, 8:38 p.m.
Anchorage police received reports of a shooting at the Walgreens located on the corner of Lake Otis Parkway and Tudor Road. Initially, no shooting victims were found at the scene. Later, 18-year-old Charles Steinhilpert III was identified by police as the sole shooting victim after he was transported to the hospital by friends, Steinhilpert was pronounced dead at Alaska Native Medical Center.
Witnesses told police the shooting occurred after a dispute between individuals from two groups over the quality and price of a bag of marijuana. A 14-year-old male with one of the groups present reached into the vehicle of the other group and turned off the ignition. Steinhilpert reportedly used a Taser against the 14-year-old, who responded by firing once into the vehicle, striking Steinhilpert in the torso.
While Steinhilpert was transported to the hospital, the other group fled in a dark colored sedan, witnesses say.
Jan. 25, 10:25 p.m.
The 14-year-old suspect of the Walgreens shooting called 911 and turned himself in, police say. Keiara Reynaud, 18, is believed to have recorded the shooting suspect being taken into custody. Reynaud posted the video to her Instagram account, charging documents say.
Jan. 29, 12:27 a.m.
Police responded to reports of six shots fired in the parking lot of Costco on Debarr Road. Once on scene, the body of a shooting victim was found and later identified as 20-year-old Jeanpal Borge. Also found at the scene was a torn Walmart bag containing multiple Ziploc bags of marijuana, charging documents say.
Through Borge’s phone records, police were able to identify two individuals who had contact with Borge on the night of the shooting, including an unidentified 15-year-old who told police he was at the scene with the victim during the shooting.
The 15-year-old told police he and Borge had agreed to meet someone at Costco for a drug deal. Four men unknown to the witness arrived. At some point during the deal, which took place in Borge’s vehicle, one of the other men grabbed the bag of weed from Borge, who became angry, got out of the vehicle and told him not to do that, according to court documents. Both men produced firearms, and the man with the bag retreated to the other vehicle.
The 15-year-old told police he’d reentered the vehicle on the passenger side when the two men got out. The man with the bag shot Borge in the face using a laser site on his gun, according to witness. The other group fled, firing off several rounds at Borge’s vehicle. The 15-year-old told police he ran several blocks and called a friend to pick him up.
Police searched the witness’s phone records, and identified Nathanial Kile as someone who contacted the witness several times before and after the shooting.
Jan. 31
Kile was brought in for questioning in relation to the shooting. He told police he lost his cell phone the day before the incident. He also told police he had been at home sleeping the entire night of the shooting.
Feb. 4
The 15-year-old was brought in again for questioning with Anchorage police and shown photos of potential suspects from the Costco shooting. He identified a man with the initials T.G. as a suspect involved in the shooting. He then identified 19-year-old Makur Chan as the one who shot Borge, saying he was 100 percent sure he was the shooter, court documents say.
The 15-year-old also told police that he had set up the deal after receiving a call from a number that began with 602, a number police had already discovered belonged to Kile. According to the witness and phone records, Kile called asking about getting marijuana the afternoon of Jan. 28.
Feb. 6
Police detained Reynaud at a residence in West Anchorage. During her initial interview with police, she admitted to being with a group of four males at Walgreens the night of the shooting. She said she knew the 14-year-old shooting suspect had a gun with him and that the group was planning to rip off the dealer, the documents say.
When they arrived at Walgreens, the other group wasn’t there yet, so the 14-year-old went inside the store. Upon arrival of the other group, Reynaud called him and told him to come back outside. This corroborates the testimony of a Walgreens employee who said a male entered the store prior to the shooting, and after receiving a phone call, quickly exited, dropping four bullets on the floor.
Reynaud told police she saw the shooter walk over to the driver’s side door. She heard the Tazer go off, and then heard a gunshot.
Feb. 7
According to court documents, in a secondary interview, Reynaud identified the driver of her group’s vehicle as a male known as Ace, who she also knew as Makur (Chan).
Chan was seen in surveillance footage from Walgreens exiting his vehicle and getting into the vehicle that held Steinhilpert. That footage was compared with surveillance video provided by the Dimond Boulevard Fred Meyer Loss Prevention team, which showed Chan – identified by Loss Prevention from previous thefts – attempting to steal a gun from the gun counter. Kile was also seen with him. Through comparison of the footage, police confirmed that Chan was in fact at the scene of the Walgreens shooting.
Chan was taken into custody. He was seen trying to destroy one of two cellphones he had with him just before he was detained. During his interrogation, Chan named three individuals who were with him at Walgreens- Reynaud, Timothy Funches and the 14-year-old suspected shooter.
When asked, Chan also admitted to being at Costco on Jan. 29. He said he, Kile and a maled named “blackie,” identified as Simon Chuar, arrived in a Honda Accord and planned to rip off the dealer there. Chan told police that after snatching the bag of marijuana, he shot Borge once. He said Chuar shot multiple times at the other vehicle, knowing the teenager was inside.
Reynaud was arraigned in Anchorage on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree robbery.
Feb. 8
Kile and Funches were each arraigned in Anchorage court on charges of first-degree robbery and second-degree murder.
Chan was arraigned on two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of first-degree robbery for his involvement in both fatal shootings.
Feb. 9
Chuar – who turned himself in after a warrant was issued for his arrest — was arraigned at the Palmer courthouse on charges of first-degree robbery, second-degree murder, first-degree murder and first-degree misconduct involving a weapon.