Anchorage’s district attorney says he’s resigning

Anchorage District Attorney Clint Campion said he is resigning from his position as the office's top prosecutor.

"I did submit my resignation (Friday)," Campion said in an email. "I am pursuing an opportunity in private practice in Anchorage."

Campion said his last day as district attorney would be Oct. 6. He said he'll join the law firm Sedor Wendlandt Evans & Filippi three days later.

He took over the position when District Attorney Sharon Marshall, who spent 14 years working at the Anchorage District Attorney's Office, retired in April 2015.

Former Attorney General Craig Richards appointed Campion, hired in 2008 by the Department of Law as a felony trial prosecutor in the violent crimes and property crimes units. Campion rose to deputy district attorney by about 2013.

During his tenure, Campion has prosecuted or overseen several high-profile cases, including the controversial sentence for then-teenager Alexandra Ellis for killing an Anchorage cyclist; the conviction of Jerry Active for murder and sexual assault stemming from a brutal attack on a Mountain View family; and the still-ongoing case of Ashley Ard, accused of abandoning her newborn daughter in an Eagle River park.

The Department of Law did not return calls regarding who would replace Campion.

The prosecutor's office in Anchorage is the state's busiest, handling nearly half of the workload of the statewide court system.