Crime & Justice

Fairbanks police arrest man in Ohio following yearlong murder investigation

Fairbanks police say they've identified and caught the man who shot John Kavairlook Jr. outside a bar there more than a year ago.

Detectives from the Interior Alaska city arrested Patrick Dale Burton, aka Patrick Burton-Hill, 23, in Cleveland, Ohio, by way of a first-degree murder warrant on June 15, according to the statement released by the Fairbanks Police Department on Friday.

"Police believe Patrick to be the actual shooter, in the death of Kavairlook," the statement says.

Burton was identified as a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area.

In the early morning of May 17, 2015, Kavairlook was shot multiple times in a parking lot after a fight at the Rock N Rodeo nightclub. He died at the scene.

Three other men have been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Burton will remain in jail while extradition proceedings are completed in Ohio, police said.

Authorities have said they were looking for a total of four people to question about the shooting. Now they're all in custody. But police are continuing to investigate the case and ask anyone with information to contact the police department.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

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