A 32-year-old man repeatedly stabbed his roommate Friday before the other man jumped out a third-floor window and was found dead on the ground outside their Anchorage condominium, according to court documents.
Jessy Amos faces charges of first- and second-degree murder in the death of his roommate, Jesse Belarde.
Amos’ mental health was deteriorating in the months prior to the stabbing, according to a complaint signed by Anchorage police officer Morgan Padrnus and attached to charges. The situation had become so bad by last Thursday — the day before the stabbing — that Amos’ family warned Belarde he was not safe staying with Amos, the complaint said.
Police were called to the condo in the Taku/Campbell area three days before the stabbing because Amos believed Belarde was “committing crimes,” although the complaint said police found no evidence to corroborate the claim. The responding officers said Amos was acting erratically and he didn’t want Belarde to stay there, the complaint said.
Amos was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2017, his family told police. He had been using his medication off and on, but his condition started to decline in July. He received care at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute under court order in September, but he was released after three days, the complaint said.
Amos’ family had purchased the condo on the 500 block of Copperbush Court in January for him to live at and told police they noticed Belarde had started staying there in recent weeks, the complaint said.
Last Thursday, Amos told a family member that Belarde was trying to steal his identity and hurt him, the charges said. The family member warned Belarde that it was not safe at the condo and reached out to the court system that day to start the process to have Amos involuntarily committed to a mental health facility, according to the complaint.
Amos told police during an interview on Saturday that he believed Belarde was going to kill him, the complaint said.
Amos told detectives he warned Belarde that he was going to kill him, so Belarde tried to shut himself in his bedroom, according to the complaint. Amos broke down the door and stabbed him repeatedly, the complaint said. Belarde jumped out the window to get away from Amos, but Amos followed him outside, the complaint said.
In a statement, Anchorage police said only that “Amos got into an altercation with his roommate,” and fatally stabbed him. They said Amos was treated for “wounds he sustained during the attack.”
Amos called a family member to report that he killed Belarde and asked them to call the police, according to the complaint, and a neighbor also called police after seeing Belarde dead outside.
Paramedics took Amos to a hospital for cuts on his hands, the complaint said. He told police during an interview he had cut himself as he attacked Belarde, according to the complaint.
He told the paramedics he had used methamphetamine on Friday, the complaint said.
He was released from the hospital Saturday and is being held at the Anchorage Correctional Complex on $500,000 bail.