Suspect in shooting of Fairbanks officer arrested

Fairbanks police have arrested and charged a man in the shooting of an officer there Sunday morning.

Anthony George Jenkins-Alexie, 29, has been charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, vehicle theft, theft and tampering with evidence, said Acting Police Chief Brad Johnson during a Tuesday press conference in Fairbanks.

The case is not yet filed in the state's court records database.

Jenkins-Alexie has a lengthy criminal history and has made threats against police before this weekend's shooting, Johnson said.

Court records show at least five criminal convictions for Jenkins-Alexie over the past three years. The charges include unlawful evasion, misdemeanor assault, and three DUI offenses in four months in 2013.

Sgt. Allen Brandt was struck four times in the lower part of his body and once in the chest. He was wearing body armor protecting his chest and sustained injuries to his legs and shrapnel in his left eye.

Brandt was flown to Anchorage for treatment of his injuries. He remained in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon, said FPD spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch.

Johnson said Monday that Brandt was one of several officers who responded to reports of shots fired and a man screaming in the 300 block of Seventh Avenue in downtown Fairbanks just after midnight Sunday. A suspect shot Brandt during the response and fled initially in Brandt's cruiser and then on foot, Johnson said.

A resident provided immediate aid to Brandt at the scene, Johnson said Tuesday.

The Fairbanks Police Department has periodically released details about the shooting over the past two days as officers continued to actively work the case.

Local, state and federal law enforcement worked together to gather details about the alleged shooter, and community members continuously gave tips and other information that led to a break in the case, Johnson said.

Officers arrested Jenkins-Alexie at about 10 a.m. near the area of 8th Avenue and Clay Street, Johnson said.

"(The arrest) was the result of the investigation that we've been conducting," Johnson said. "We've taken a huge number of measures and looked at the suspect's activity, which gave us the opportunity to take him into custody in a safe manner."

The shooter acted alone and there in no continuing threat to the community, he said.

"I'm very satisfied because we were concerned. If you have someone out there willing to attempt murder on a police officer, that's a threat to every member of this community."