Fairbanks police seek person and vehicle 'of interest' in fatal shooting

A man found dead on a Fairbanks street this month was the victim of a shooting, police said Wednesday as investigators seek to contact a "person of interest" and the occupants of a vehicle seen in the area at the time.

In a briefing recorded on Facebook video Wednesday afternoon, Fairbanks Police Department investigators said an autopsy determined that 44-year-old Jose Alfonso Sifuentes-Morales died of a gunshot wound. His body was found shortly after midnight April 4 on the 100 block of Third Avenue near Hall Street.

FPD Chief Eric Jewkes told reporters at the briefing that few additional details, beyond those on people police hoped to speak with, were being released to protect the investigation.

"We're really hoping for some help," Jewkes said. "There's people out there who know more things than we do, who know different things than we do, and we're looking for those people."

One of those people, the person of interest, was seen on surveillance video walking through a parking lot on the Old Steese Highway. Police spokeswoman Yumi McCulloch said police have other information that indicates the person in the video, time-stamped 11:28 p.m. April 3, was subsequently walking with Sifuentes-Morales prior to his death.

"The individual appears to be wearing a jacket with a hood, ball cap and pants that have a reflective striping on both sides near the bottom," police wrote in a statement. "The video has been forwarded to the FBI for enhancement."

Investigators are also looking to speak with the occupants of a Chevrolet Impala sedan with a spoiler on the trunk, from model years 2006 through 2013, seen driving in the area before the shooting. It wasn't clear how many people were in the sedan at the time, but police have already contacted some Impala owners in Fairbanks.

Detective Peyton Meredith, the investigator handling the case, thanked the public for the imagery submitted to police so far and urged anyone with other video from the area of the shooting that night to come forward.

"Let us look at your video," Meredith said at Wednesday's briefing. "Don't rule it out yourself — let us look at it, to see if there's anything relevant on there or not."

Anyone with information on the case can contact Meredith at 907-450-6553 or by email at pmeredith@fairbanks.us.