A second man has been charged with murder in the gun battle that left two dead and two wounded earlier this month outside a Muldoon pool hall.
Ryan Laulu, 31, admitted shooting one of the victims in the chaos that followed an Oct. 10 argument at the saloon, according to new charges filed Friday in Superior Court. Police previously charged Laulu, a convicted felon, with a weapons charge three days after the shootings.
The amended charges accuse Laulu of first-degree murder but they don't directly name his alleged victim. Instead, they quote a witness who saw Laulu with a silver revolver in his hand, heard a gunshot, then saw 28-year-old Ka Meng Chang fall to the ground.
Laulu told police that he drew the revolver and killed the man, but Laulu appeared to be making a case that it was self defense. Laulu said the man was holding a gun on him while crossing the street toward the melee, the charges say.
Laulu admitted to wiping the gun clean and tossing it as he fled the scene in a black Infiniti, the charges say.
Laulu was a friend of Emilio Ramirez, 35, the other victim who was shot and killed in the fracas next to J.J.'s Lounge, 624 Muldoon Road. Two other people were injured but survived the shootings.
Laulu said he had hurried to the bar after receiving a call for help from Ramirez, who had been arguing with another man inside the bar. Ramirez was afraid he was about to be jumped and called and texted friends for reinforcements, the charges say.
Laulu arrived and Ramirez handed him a revolver moments before the gunfire erupted, the charges say.
It's unclear who Ramirez was arguing with at the bar. Lee Chee Chang, identified by a defense lawyer as Ka Meng Chang's younger brother, is accused of shooting and killing Ramirez.
One witness spotted a man later identified as Laulu outside the bar, silver revolver in hand, police say. Laulu was arrested shortly after the shootings on a charge of possessing a weapon as a convicted felon. Prosecutors on Friday added counts of first and second-degree murder.
Even as the fresh charges offer detectives' most complete account of the shooting so far, police left many lingering questions unanswered Friday afternoon.
Homicide Det. John Foraker declined to say who police believe shot the survivors, or whether any additional charges will be filed in the case.
Police may release new details about the shootings as early as today, Foraker said in a brief phone interview.
Here's how the charges filed against Laulu and others describe the shootings so far:
Ramirez, a regular pool player at the lounge, began arguing with one or more patrons at the bar just before midnight on Oct. 9.
"We don't know exactly what it was about. It could have been over a game of pool. It could have been over somebody looking at someone wrong," Foraker said. "Those are a couple of the possibilities that we're looking at."
A J.J.'s Lounge employee called co-owner Jerry Buffington to report the flare-up, Buffington said. Someone in the bar had claimed Ramirez, who was also known as Mario Lopez, had a gun, Buffington was told. Ramirez sometimes played pool with Buffington and got on the phone with him to talk about it, the owner said.
"(Ramirez) says, 'I haven't got a gun on me. I wouldn't bring a gun into your bar,' " Buffington told the Daily News.
"I says, 'Well if you do, take it out to your car,' " Buffington recalled.
Ramirez began calling and texting Laulu and other friends, according to the charges. Ramirez told at least one friend he thought he was about to get "jumped" and needed help, the charges say.
Laulu arrived at the bar but stayed in the parking lot, the charges say.
About 15 minutes later, at 12:10 a.m., Laulu texted Ramirez.
"im outside aint got my id," he wrote, according to the charges.
Ramirez exited the bar and handed something to Laulu, the charges say.
It was a revolver, Laulu said.
At some point, Laulu told police, the argument that ignited inside the lounge spilled outside and turned physical. Ramirez and another, unnamed person began wrestling two men described in the charges only as "Asian males."
Others joined in the fight. Guns were pulled, the charges say.
Laulu spotted a man approaching from across the street, the charges say.
Chang died from a gunshot wound to the head, an autopsy found, according to the charges. His body was picked up from Muldoon Road.
Laulu saw Chang fall to the ground and called to Ramirez to leave, the charges say. That's when another man, whom police have identified as 25-year-old Lee Chee Chang, began firing on Ramirez, according to the charges.
A passing driver told police he saw Lee Chee Chang stand above Ramirez in the parking lot, rack a round into the chamber and shoot him. Ramirez died from multiple gunshot wounds, including one to the head, an autopsy found.
After seeing Ramirez fall, Laulu left in the Infiniti, the charges say. Laulu wiped the gun clean and tossed it from the car as he escaped, he told police.
Laulu later led police to the discarded revolver, prosecutors say.
Police arrested Laulu that week on weapons charges. He was in jail when prosecutors added counts of first- and second-degree murder, a police spokesman said. He also is charged with tampering with evidence.
Laulu was on federal probation at the time of his arrest for a prior federal conviction of conspiracy to possess and sell cocaine.
Lee Chee Chang surrendered to police on Oct. 12. Another man, 29-year-old Vang Chang, is accused of trying to help Lee Chee Chang hide a handgun after the shooting. He has been charged with weapons misconduct, assault and evidence tampering.
Twitter updates: twitter.com/adn_kylehopkins. Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334 or email him at khopkins@adn.com.
By KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News