Man who fled after Anchorage shooting injured toddler was arrested in Dominican Republic, police say

A man suspected in a road-rage shooting that injured a toddler in Fairview last May was arrested in the Dominican Republic last week, Anchorage police said in a press conference Tuesday.

Investigators believe the shooting started after a road dispute on May 21 ramped up into a high-speed chase that ultimately led to gunfire in the area of Hyde Street and East 12th Avenue, police said.

Two-year-old Kapuaokalani “Kapua” Murphy was injured when a stray bullet from the shooting flew through the living room wall of her family’s apartment, shattering her scapula.

Two of the men accused in the shooting, 26-year-old David Matthew Freeman and 26-year-old Argenis Guzman, were arrested in the days following the shooting.

Two more suspects, Rodger Brito, 24, and Darvin Tatis, 26, were believed to have fled the country for the Dominican Republic, where investigators believe Brito is from, police said. Tatis returned to Anchorage, and U.S. marshals arrested him in Mountain View last December.

Brito was located in the Dominican Republic last week by a team that included U.S. marshals and one Anchorage police officer. He has been brought back to Anchorage, where he bailed out of jail Monday on $5,000 bond.

He faces two felony assault charges and two charges of felony weapons misconduct.

“I think the message that sends loud and clear is, yes, we do warrant sweeps here in Anchorage and throughout the state of Alaska, but it just doesn’t stop at the borders of the United States," said Robert Heun, U.S. marshal for the District of Alaska.

The shooting appears to have begun when two vehicles, a red Dodge Ram pickup driven by Freeman and a silver 2012 Toyota Camry driven by Guzman, pulled alongside each other heading northbound on the Seward Highway at the 36th Avenue intersection, according to the complaint in the case.

Guzman told police during an interview that the shooting started after one of his four passengers gave Freeman, the driver of the truck, a thumbs-down and told him his truck was too loud. Freeman reportedly reached into the rear seat of the truck and pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, which he placed beside him, the complaint says.

Guzman told police Freeman fired on the Camry at Ninth Avenue, missing its three back-seat passengers, and Guzman chased the truck while Brito fired at it. Guzman later abandoned the Camry and reported it stolen.

Brito was convicted in 2016 of driving under the influence but otherwise has no criminal record beyond traffic violations.