Anchorage Daily News

With 12 suspected homicides, 2008 turned out to be an uncommonly safe year on Anchorage streets when it comes to murder, according to police.

The year-end tally puts Anchorage at fewer than half of last year's total and represents a significant decline over years past.

"We're certainly pleased that we have such a lower number of homicides," said Detective Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz, supervisor of the homicide unit. "But at the same time, 12 homicides is still 12 too many."

The year stood in sharp contrast to last year's near-record of 25 and was the fewest the city has seen since 2001, when 11 people were slain. Also, three included on the list of this year's deaths are being investigated as homicides but police haven't yet been able to prove they were. That means Anchorage could have had as few as nine homicides for the year, which would be the fewest in more than 30 years.

Of note this year was that there were no "classic" domestic-violence killings, Markiewicz said. A child allegedly died because of abuse and neglect, and two brothers who didn't live together got into a fight that ultimately proved fatal, but none of the cases involved spousal abuse, he said.

Also, there were no gang-motivated homicides -- a statistic Markiewicz attributed to police cracking down on younger, violent offenders. Statistics show that murders are most likely committed by people between 18 and 24, and that is the group predominantly being locked up for other crimes by anti-gang officers, he said.

Common risk factors that were not missing in this year's tally included high numbers of cases involving drugs or alcohol, traditionally present in most homicide cases, Markiewicz said. This year, alcohol was involved in six of the cases and drugs in at least three more.

1 Name: Brandon Wilson, 29

Killed: Jan. 26

Charged: No one

Weapon: Fire

Location: 6135 East Tudor Road

Circumstances: Firefighters put out a blaze in an apartment unit and discovered the charred remains of Wilson, its former tenant. He had lived there with his wife until Jan. 22, when a previous fire forced them to move out. Police say Wilson died in the fire but they have released few details on the death. They say they have few leads.

Status: Unsolved

2 Name: Gregory Wilkerson, 34

Killed: Jan. 30

Charged: Vincent Wilkerson, 39

Weapon: Handgun

Location: 705 Muldoon Road

Circumstances: The two brothers got into a fight over drug money, and Vincent, determined not to lose, pulled a gun and shot four times, hitting his brother in the stomach and head, according to police. Witnesses told police Wilkerson continued shooting his brother even after his brother fell to the floor.

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

3 Name: Jennifer Jacobsen, 27

Killed: Feb. 18

Charged: Craig Berumen Jr., 24; Christopher Binkley, 25; and Stephen Mohler Jr., 24

Weapon: Handgun

Location: 5300 block of East 40th Avenue

Circumstances: 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, according to police. Binkley and Mohler were waiting in an alley behind the home and ran out when Jacobsen pulled up, trying to take the drugs at gunpoint. Jacobsen slammed the vehicle into reverse and wound up 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. All are awaiting trial.

4 Name: Tyler Meyer, 29

Killed: March 29

Charged: Lindy Rae Morrison, 19, and Nathanael Albright, 24

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. She got back in the truck and handed him an empty napkin she picked up from the floorboard, telling Albright to take off. Meyer grabbed the side of the truck, and Albright tried to shake him off by swerving the vehicle, charges say. He told police he didn't realize he struck him and dragged him for several blocks.

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. Both are awaiting trial.

5 Name: 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 person 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. Perkins insisted he didn't know why the gun fired.

Status: Perkins is awaiting trial on charges of first- and second-degree murder.

6 Name: Julian Miranda, 4 months

Killed: April 14

Charged: Raena Miranda, 27

Weapon: Neglect/child abuse

Location: 300 block of Pauline Street

Circumstances: Julian died while in his mother's care because of "severe, abusive neglect," according to police. They have refused to detail what that means. The case took months to wrap up because extensive testing was needed to rule out other causes of death, police said.

Status: Raena Miranda was indicted in November on charges of second-degree murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide. She is awaiting trial.

7 Name: Tigautchaiq Douglas, 22 *

Killed: Aug. 23

Charged: No one

Cause of death: Fall

Location: 900 block of West 27th Avenue

Circumstances: Douglas' body was discovered by a cab driver in the parking lot behind the Castle Apartments, a Midtown complex. Police are certain Douglas, who had been drinking, somehow went out a fifth-floor window at the apartments, but they don't know whether he was pushed, jumped or fell accidentally.

Status: Unsolved. Police are awaiting the final autopsy report.

8 Name: Travis Villa, 22

Killed: Sept. 9

Charged: No one

Weapon: Handgun

Location: 261 McCarrey St.

Circumstances: Villa and his roommate, Morgan Meadows, 20, were shot in their condo shortly before one or two suspects were seen fleeing the scene. One of them took Meadows' pickup, which was discovered on fire later in the Mountain View Lions Community Park. Meadows was critically injured but survived. Police have few leads in the shooting.

Status: Unsolved.

9 Name: Darrell Kalmakoff, 39 *

Killed: Sept. 26

Charged: No one

Cause of death: Not released

Location: 1300 block of West 44th Avenue

Circumstances: Kalmakoff was highly intoxicated at a party in an apartment when he passed out on the floor and subsequently stopped breathing, police said. He died before paramedics arrived. Conflicting statements from witnesses initially caused police to call the death suspicious, and investigators now say preliminary autopsy results point to homicide. Few other details have been released.

Status: Unsolved. Police are awaiting the final autopsy report.

10 Name: Monroe Randall Jr., 61 *

Killed: Nov. 27

Charged: No one

Cause of death: Subdural hematoma

Location: 900 block of Eagle Street

Circumstances: Randall had been in a fight two days before his death, but he appeared fine and continued living his life until he suddenly died, according to police. An autopsy showed he had bleeding in his brain and the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. Police have contacted the person he fought with but are not sure if the fight was the direct cause of death. The other person told police Randall initiated the fight, so self-defense may also be a factor, police said.

Status: Unsolved. Police are continuing to investigate and are awaiting the final autopsy report.

11 Name: Evan Minnear, 24

Killed: Nov. 30

Charged: Vongdeuane Vongthongdy, 26

Weapon: Handgun

Location: The Woodshed Lounge

Circumstances: Vongthongdy, a convicted felon, had been out of jail for just 16 days when he brandished a semiautomatic handgun and fired it in the air while leaving the downtown Woodshed. Minnear, an off-duty military police sergeant in the Army, tried to calm the situation and get Vongthongdy to wait until police arrived. Vongthongdy shot Minnear in the chest and killed him, charges say.

Status: Vongthongdy is being held at the Anchorage jail while he awaits trial on charges of first- and second-degree murder, and weapons misconduct.

12 Name: Anthony Brown, 40

Killed: Dec. 6

Charged: Keane "Alex" Crawford, 28

Weapon: Handgun

Location: 2306 W. 45th Ave.

Circumstances: Crawford and Brown got into a fight while drinking at Brown's home after Crawford punched his wife in the eye, charges say. Brown intervened and Crawford, a fringe political figure who unsuccessfully ran for an East Anchorage Assembly seat in 2007, pulled a pistol and shot Brown several times, charges claim. Brown died before medics arrived on scene.

Status: Crawford is awaiting trial on charges of first-degree murder and assault.

* These cases are being investigated as homicides, but police have not yet been able to prove the victims died at the hands of another.

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

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