An Anchorage jury convicted a man Wednesday for what police testified was a gang-related shooting in September outside a downtown bar.
Mavaega Brandon Tautua, 21, was convicted on three felonies: two counts of first-degree assault and a count of felony possession of a firearm. He faces up to 28 years in prison for the assault charges.
Tautua shot a man Sept. 12 twice with a .38 caliber revolver after a fistfight between rival gang members broke out at the corner of D Street and Fourth Avenue. Tautua then shot at the fleeing men and hit an innocent woman on the sidewalk, prosecutor James Fayette said.
"It was clearly gang-related conduct; this guy was picking a fight," Fayette said Thursday. Tautua claimed he'd shot in self-defense, but there are five different legal definitions for that defense that his story did not stand up to, Fayette said.
Tautua said he and his two friends were confronted by a group of five, and he testified Monday that, to defend himself, "I would have killed them all, I would have shot all of them."
"That's pretty chilling," Fayette said, especially considering Tautua answered in the affirmative later when asked if he would do the same thing if given another chance.
Police said the 19-year-old Angel Martin-Laura was shot in his left shoulder and buttocks. Friends took him to a hospital, where police said he was treated for his injuries and released.
The innocent victim was shot in the shoulder and also has recovered.
Rookie police officer Jesus Rivera saw the shooting unfold from his patrol car and nabbed Tautua just after the shots were fired. Video cameras captured the shooting and arrest.
The Anchorage police officers' union referred to Rivera's police work in this incident during an ad campaign against officer layoffs by Mayor Dan Sullivan's administration.
Tautua testified in his defense, and denied being affiliated with a gang. He wore a bright red Boston Red Sox jacket and baseball cap the night of the shooting because the Sox are his favorite team, he said on the stand.
However, when a prosecutor cross- examined him, Tautua was not familiar with Fenway Park, the baseball club's home field, or famous players from its recent and past history, including David Ortiz or Ted Williams.
Gang intelligence detective Scott Lofthouse testified that stylized "B" logos and bright red Red Sox apparel are popular with gang members affiliated with the Bloods.
Tautua has a previous conviction for theft of a firearm from 2007. He is scheduled to face a judge for sentencing in May.
Find Casey Grove online at adn.com/contact/casey.grove or call him at 257-4589.
By CASEY GROVE
casey.grove@adn.com