Alaska News

Two injured, one jailed in Spenard hotel shooting

Two men were injured in a shooting early Monday at a Spenard hotel, police say.

Just before 1 a.m. Janell Moody, 32, called 911 to report her husband and a clerk at the Paradise Inn, at 3001 Spenard Road, had both been shot during a fight, police said in a written statement.

The clerk, 54-year-old Craig Brown, faces assault charges in the shooting, police said.

Both Brown and another man, 25-year-old Louie Gephart, were wounded, police said.

The altercation apparently started when Gephart, Moody and Gephart's brother tried to rent a room at the hotel, a tan two-story structure with a basement and a light-up palm tree sign, after drinking in the hotel bar, police spokeswoman Marlene Lammers said. The three had been drinking and argued with hotel staff about payment for the room, Lammers said.

"I believe that they had given the clerk a credit card, and they had accused him of charging the card several times, when that wasn't the case," Lammers said.

Brown then told the trio they could not stay at the hotel and ripped up the credit card receipts, but they continued to argue, Lammers said.

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The fight spilled outside to the parking lot, police said. Gephart and his brother, 22-year-old Jesus Gephart, struggled with Brown, Lammers said.

Brown pulled out a small-caliber handgun in the parking lot, according to police. While he was fighting with Louie Gephart, the gun went off, police said.

It's unclear how many shots were fired, Lammers said.

Gephart was struck in the hand by a bullet or injured by the gun's muzzle flash, Lammers said. A bullet went through Brown's right leg above the knee and into his left leg just below the knee, police said.

Both men were taken to a local hospital and treated. Gephart was released; Brown was released and arrested, police said.

"(Brown) is the one who caused the injuries," Lammers said.

Brown is charged with one count of first-degree assault, two counts of third-degree assault and one count of third-degree weapons misconduct, police said. A detective working on the case does not expect to file any charges against the Gepharts or Moody, Lammers said.

A manager at the Paradise Inn on Monday declined to comment.

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.

By CASEY GROVE

Anchorage Daily News

Casey Grove

Casey Grove is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News. He left the ADN in 2014.

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