Crime & Courts

Juneau man dies days after being kicked in head; police arrest suspect

Update Friday, July 7: Juneau police said Friday that they have arrested David V. Evenson has been arrested in connection with the death of a local man there.

Officers took Evenson into custody around 1:45 p.m. Friday, according to the Juneau Police Department. He is currently jailed at the Lemon Creek Correctional Center.

Evenson, 51, has been charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide in the death of Aaron G. Monette, 56. He is being held on a no bail status.

Original story: 

A 56-year-old Juneau man died four days after he was kicked in the head outside the Downtown Transit Center there, and the assailant hasn't been picked up by police, according to the Juneau Police Department.

JPD received a 911 call around 1 p.m. June 30 about a man assaulting the victim at the transit center, police said.

Officers responded and found the victim, later identified as local resident Aaron G. Monette, lying unconscious on the ground, police said. Two officers started helping Monette while others canvassed the area for the person responsible, they said.

ADVERTISEMENT

"The suspect had fled the scene prior to the officers' arrival," police spokeswoman Erann Kalwara said.

Monette was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital but had to be flown to Seattle's Harborview Medical Center for advanced treatment, Kalwara said. But Monette was pronounced dead on the evening of Independence Day.

Monette's family has been told about his death, police said.

Police named 51-year-old Juneau resident David V. Evenson as a suspect. Police have not made contact with Evenson and the investigation remains open.

Police ask anyone with information about Evenson's location to call JPD at 907-586-0600, or to make an anonymous tip through the Juneau Crime Line.

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

ADVERTISEMENT