After pursuit, Anchorage police arrest suspect in fatal Fourth of July shooting

An Anchorage man accused of shooting and killing another man during a Fourth of July cookout led officers on a chase across South Anchorage in the hours after the incident, police said Tuesday.

According to a statement from police spokeswoman Renee Oistad, 32-year-old Trayvon Morrissette was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 30-year-old Jorge Rea-Villa Jr.

The victim's father, Jorge Rea-Villa Sr., said he wanted justice for his oldest son, who he described as a great person who was very popular among his friends.

"I don't want criminals like (Morrissette) out here in the streets," the father told a judge at the Anchorage Correctional Complex Tuesday during the suspect's arraignment. "Because of guys like this, we're not safe."

Rea-Villa Jr. was one of four deaths over the holiday weekend deemed homicides by the Anchorage police.

When police responded at about 7:45 p.m. Monday to the trailer, on the 4000 block of Lore Road, Oistad said they found Rea-Villa Jr. with "several gunshot wounds" shortly before he was pronounced dead.

"A group of friends were gathered at the residence for a holiday barbecue when the shooting took place," Oistad wrote. "The witnesses identified the shooter as (Morrissette). The witnesses said Morrissette and Rea-Villa knew each other but they did not know why Morrissette would have shot Rea-Villa."

The charges against Morrissette say Rea-Villa Jr. was shot in the bathroom of a trailer. Witnesses told detectives the group at the barbecue was preparing to go out and Rea-Villa went to the bathroom to clean up; they saw Morrissette walk toward the bathroom and then heard five to six gunshots.

"As witnesses tried to figure out what happened, Morrissette walked out of the trailer. He refused to give an explanation to any of the men and left in his tan Honda sedan," the charges say.

Prosecutors say detectives found a bloodied bathroom and multiple spent cartridges near Rea-Villa Jr.'s body.

Roughly an hour after the shooting, police said they received a report from an apartment resident on the 600 block of West 76th Avenue, who told them he was barricaded out of his own apartment by "a person matching Morrissette's description." When officers arrived, Morrissette ran from the apartment.

"APD received additional reports of break-ins and attempted break-ins in the area with suspect description consistent for Morrissette," Oistad wrote. "Several citizens called police and relayed information as to Morrissette's whereabouts; he was ultimately located hiding in a stairwell at the 7400 block of Foxridge Way at about 10:22 p.m."

Oistad said there wasn't any apparent link between Morrissette and the resident of the West 76th Avenue apartment he allegedly broke into.

"That was completely random," Oistad said.

Morrissette gave simple "yes" or "no" answers to the judge during his initial court appearance. He was assigned a public defender; his bail was kept at $500,000. The murder charge could mean 20 to 99 years in prison for Morrissette if convicted.

Outside the courtroom, Rea-Villa Jr.'s family gathered while his father reiterated what he told the judge — he wants justice for his son and for families whose loved ones also have been murdered. He wanted the court to hand down a severe punishment, he said.

Rea-Villa Sr. alleged that his son had been set up. When asked why, he said, "It was drugs." His son knew people involved in dealing drugs, he said.

The father said Rea-Villa Jr. was self-employed and a talented tattoo artist. He showed off several pictures of the body art on his cellphone.

"He was my pride," Rea-Villa Sr. said.

Rea-Villa Jr. was acquainted with two nationals from the Dominican Republic living in Alaska who were killed on a trip to Puerto Rico in March 2016, his father told reporters.

Yoshua Orencio Soto Brito and Rodolfo Argenis Contreras were gunned down in the municipality of Carolina, the El Nuevo Dia, "The New Day," reported. The few facts reported about the deaths were confirmed by FBI special agent in the agency's San Juan office.

Rea-Villa Sr. said his son expressed fear of being killed after the deaths.

The father said he did not hate Morrissette, who he'd seen around his son prior to the shooting, but wouldn't go as far as calling them friends.

"He made a mistake and he has to pay for it," he said.