18-year-old accused of shooting Carrs employee appears in court

The 18-year-old accused of shooting a Carrs supermarket employee over the weekend at a store in West Anchorage made an initial court appearance Monday.

Devon Maurice Brown has been charged with two felonies in the shooting: second-degree assault and misconduct involving weapons for firing a gun at a building, according to online court records. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of reckless endangerment.

Brown answered the judge's few questions before being appointed a public defender during his arraignment at the Anchorage Correctional Court Complex. His bail was set at a total of $55,000 and a third-party custodian.

A dozen people showed up to support Brown; they declined to comment following the hearing.

No one came to the hearing on behalf of the wounded store employee. Assistant District Attorney Jenna Gruenstein said the employee remains in the hospital. Other victims declined to participate in the arraignment, Gruenstein said.

The employee could not be reached for comment Monday.

Police were called to the store on the corner of Minnesota Drive and Northern Lights Boulevard around 6:48 a.m. Saturday to deal with a group of people who were causing a disturbance and breaking store property, according to a criminal complaint against Brown written by Anchorage Police Department Detective Milton Jakeway.

[18-year-old arrested in connection with shooting at Carrs grocery store]

An investigation showed that Brown had been involved in "verbal and physical altercations" with employees at the store before stepping outside and firing back into the building, Jakeway wrote.

What led to the initial confrontation wasn't clear.

The injured employee told police that as he responded to a call for help over the store's intercom about "people being violent" near the store's front doors, he saw the group leaving.

"(The victim) reported that he ran outside to get the license plate of the vehicle," Jakeway wrote. "(He) reported that once he was outside he was shot in the arm and in the leg."

The injured employee identified Brown as the shooter from a photo lineup, after an APD officer recognized Brown in surveillance video taken from the store, Jakeway wrote.