Anchorage Daily News

An 18-year-old Anchorage man accused of shooting another teen in East Anchorage on Saturday has turned himself in, according to police.

Police say Johnathan Bindon, a local hip-hop artist, shot 18-year-old Lydell Butler in the chest after a scuffle. Bindon was charged with assault, misconduct involving weapons and reckless endangerment, said Anchorage Police spokeswoman Anita Shell.

Butler survived the shooting and was in fair condition at Providence Alaska Medical Center Wednesday, police said.

Bindon ran from the scene, police said, but turned himself in at about 3 a.m. Wednesday at the Anchorage jail.

Bindon's lawyer, Rex Butler, said the two teenagers are friends and described the shooting as a case of self-defense.

"When you have a struggle over a gun, you cannot always pinpoint who actually pulled the trigger. Or how the trigger got pulled," Rex Butler said.

He declined to tell Bindon's side of the story in detail, saying he didn't have Bindon's permission to do so and wanted to see the police reports first.

Butler said he is not related to Lydell Butler, the man who was shot.

Bindon is also known as John Boii, a hip-hop/rap artist recently recording with the local label FrostBite Records. He's featured on a new album called "Alaska's Most Wanted," according to the label's Web site.

That budding music career is one reason he turned himself in, Butler said. "He wants to take care of the situation and get back to his career goals."

The shooting happened in a rental duplex just after 2 p.m. in the 2700 block of Lee Street, a dead-end road east of Boniface Parkway near Northern Lights Boulevard.

Shell said she didn't know if the gun belonged to Bindon. Butler, the lawyer, said it belonged to someone else.

Find Kyle Hopkins at adn.com/contact/khopkins.

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