Anchorage Daily News

Last year, Anchorage's killers struck often and with macabre style.

They used guns, but also fists, knives, baseball bats and machetes. One killed a friend with a frying pan, hacked the body up and stuffed it in a freezer.

Such gruesome killings have been noticeably absent so far this year. In fact, homicides in general have taken a major dip, and not just from last year's near-record 25 slayings, according to Anchorage police.

With only five homicides on record halfway through the year, 2008 is shaping up to be one of the least deadly for Anchorage in years.

By this time last year, there were 13 homicides -- an average of one every two weeks. Now there hasn't been a killing in more than 2 1/2 months.

"You have normal fluctuations from year to year, but this one is a real dip," said Detective Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz, homicide unit supervisor for Anchorage police. "The last few years we just seemed to be really busy. ... There's no single reason, and it can be explained in several ways."

One could be that the Special Assignment Unit and programs such as the Safe Streets Task Force, which target gangs and violent offenders, have plucked many criminals from the streets in the past year, Markiewicz said. Most were men in their violent prime, between 18 and 24 years old, he said.

But there are also the inexplicable fluctuations that can change the numbers dramatically. Not that he's complaining: "I'm very pleased," he said.

Alan McKelvie, research director for the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center at the University of Alaska Anchorage's Justice Center, said there is no obvious cause for the dip. Because Alaska has relatively small numbers of homicides, the statistics can be greatly affected by normal fluctuations, he said.

Police targeting violent offenders can help but is not likely to account for the dip by itself, he said.

"Homicides very frequently stem from family issues -- they're crimes of passion, sudden rage," McKelvie said. "In those instances, there's no forewarning, so there are no real steps police can take to minimize it."

During the recent lull, the eight-person homicide unit is keeping busy following cases as they go to trial and working cold cases, Markiewicz said. Four of last year's 25 homicides remain unsolved, for example.

The first homicide case of 2008, the death of Brandon Wilson, also remains unsolved. His cause of death has not been released, though his body was discovered burned in an apartment fire. Three of this year's victims were killed by guns, one by a truck.

All but one so far has been drug- or alcohol-related, Markiewicz said.

"A lot of homicide victims are people that are higher-risk," Markiewicz said. "Not all of them. Some of them, like Mindy Schloss, you can't consider a high-risk person. It's just bad circumstances.

"But a lot of people take risks that are unnecessary that result in their being homicide victims."

Schloss, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, disappeared in August. Her body was found in the Mat-Su last September. Her neighbor, Joshua Wade, has been charged in federal court with her murder.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.

Homicides 2008

Killed: Jan. 26

Charged: No one

Weapon: Not released, his body burned in a fire

Location: 6135 E. Tudor Road

Circumstances: Firefighters put out a blaze in an apartment unit and discovered charred remains of its former tenant, 29-year-old Brandon Wilson. He had lived in the apartment with his wife until Jan. 22, when a previous fire forced them to move out. Police have released few details on the death.

Status: Unsolved. Markiewicz said the case remains under investigation and detectives have few leads.

Gregory Wilkerson, 34

Killed: Jan. 30

Charged: Vincent Wilkerson, 39

Weapon: Gun

Location: 705 Muldoon Road

Circumstances: The two brothers got into a fight over drug money, and Vincent pulled a gun and shot four times, hitting his brother in the stomach and head, according to police. Witnesses told police Wilkerson continued shooting even after his brother fell.

Status: Wilkerson has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, misconduct involving a weapon and tampering with evidence.

Jennifer Jacobsen, 27

Killed: Feb. 18

Charged: Craig Berumen Jr., 23, Christopher Binkley, 24, and Stephen Mohler Jr., 23

Weapon: Gun

Location: 5300 block of East 40th Avenue

Circumstances: Police say Berumen called Jacobsen to his East Anchorage home, apparently so he and the two other men could rob her of about $80 worth of marijuana. Binkley and Mohler were waiting in an alley behind the home and ran out when Jacobsen pulled up, according to police. Jacobsen slammed the vehicle into reverse and backed onto a snowbank across the street, dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

Status: Berumen was indicted on charges of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. Binkley and Mohler also are charged with second-degree murder, and Binkley faces six counts of first-degree robbery, Mohler four.

Tyler Meyer, 29

Killed: March 29

Charged: Lindy Rae Morrison, 18, and Nathanael Albright, 23

Weapon: Ford F-350 pickup

Location: 69th Avenue and Cranberry Street

Circumstances: Police say Meyer, who had been in rehab, was trying to buy crack cocaine when he approached Albright's truck in the middle of the night. Meyer handed Morrison just under $50 and she handed him an empty napkin, then told Albright to take off. Meyer grabbed the side of the truck, and Albright tried to shake him off by swerving the vehicle, police said. Albright told police he didn't realize he struck and dragged Meyer.

Status: Morrison has been charged with second-degree murder and first-degree robbery. Albright has been charged with manslaughter, failing to assist an injured person after an accident and attempted misconduct involving a controlled substance.

Elmer Patrick, 48

Killed: April 12

Charged: Roger Perkins, 46

Weapon: .45-caliber pistol

Location: Bike trail off Arctic and Dimond boulevards

Circumstances: Patrick, Perkins and another man were drinking beer under a bridge along the Campbell Creek trail when Perkins pulled the gun and put it to Patrick's head, according to police. Under interrogation, Perkins told police he said to Patrick, "Wouldn't it be a bitch if this gun went off?" The weapon discharged and killed Patrick, though Perkins insisted he didn't know why the gun fired.

Status: Perkins has been charged with first- and second-degree murder. His trial is scheduled for Sept. 15.

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