Crime & Courts

Man fatally shot in Northwest Alaska community of Point Lay

A Point Lay man accused of fatally shooting another man this week said that voices he heard in his head told him to act violently, according to murder charges filed against him.

Officers from the North Slope Borough Police Department were called to a home in Point Lay around 4:20 p.m. Sunday, according to a probable cause statement signed by officer Paul Renschen. Point Lay is about 300 miles southwest of Utqiagvik.

When officers arrived, Justin Labrado was dead, the statement said. A family member who was at the home told police that Leefisher Tukrook, 27, had shot him and left the house, Renschen wrote.

Police found Tukrook at a different house and detained him, the charges said. Tukrook told officers that he’d been hearing voices that told him to kill Labrado, according to the probable cause statement. He also told police that he’d run out of his medication to treat schizophrenia about four or five days earlier, Renschen wrote.

Tukrook faces a charge of first-degree murder in Labrado’s death.

He was arraigned Tuesday morning, and the bond was set at $500,000, according to Alaska Department of Law spokesman Aaron Sadler.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 10 at the courthouse in Utqiagvik.

Daily News and Arctic Sounder reporter Alena Naiden contributed.

Tess Williams

Tess Williams is a reporter focusing on breaking news and public safety. Before joining the ADN in 2019, she was a reporter for the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. Contact her at twilliams@adn.com.

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