Police investigate death in Mountain View homeless camp

Police identified the man as Darren Alexander and said he was not homeless, but a visitor to the camp.

Officers were releasing few details of the death, including how the man died. Alcohol had been involved in a disturbance at the camp Saturday morning, police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker said.

Investigators were at the scene into the afternoon Saturday gathering evidence. The camp included a circle of about four tents, trash and other items 100 yards east of McCarrey Street between Mountain View Drive and the Glenn Highway. An American flag was posted on a nearby tree.

The tents were erected near a snow dump site. On Saturday afternoon, a group of people, including one man who said he was at the camp Friday night and Saturday morning, gathered at a park bench on the opposite side of Mountain View Drive.

Someone calling from a nearby gas station reported seeing the body at the camp at about 10:45 a.m., Parker said.

Police interviewed other occupants of the camp, and investigators took several of the people living there to police headquarters for questioning.

A search warrant was issued Saturday afternoon that allowed detectives to look through tents and other belongings at the camp, Parker said.

According to court records, Alexander has faced dozens of criminal charges in the past, including assault, burglary and criminal mischief.

Find Casey Grove online at adn.com/contact/casey.grove or call him at 257-4589.