Crime & Courts

Fairbanks man was fatally shot while trying to retrieve his stolen vehicle, troopers say

FAIRBANKS - A Fairbanks man killed last week was shot after attempting to retrieve his stolen vehicle, according to a criminal complaint filed by Alaska State Troopers.

Brian Talbott, 43, is charged with first- and second-degree murder in the death Friday of Clayton Nelson, 46, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.

Talbott is jailed at Fairbanks Correctional Center with bail set at $1 million. He is represented by the Alaska Public Defender Agency, which does not comment on pending cases.

Emergency responders found Nelson mortally wounded in a car in the parking lot of a Fred Meyer store in west Fairbanks. He was taken to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Troopers investigators in the criminal complaint said Nelson on Thursday night tried to retrieve his stolen vehicle from Talbott. Talbot rammed the vehicle Nelson was in and Nelson left, the complaint said.

Nelson returned Friday with three friends and again tried to reclaim his vehicle, troopers said.

Nelson asked Talbott for his keys, and when Talbott refused, a fight broke out. Nelson and his friends got back in their car to leave but had trouble gaining traction on the icy road, troopers said.

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Talbott, armed with a gun, shot five times at the car, shattering the rear window and hitting Nelson in the neck as he sat in the back seat, the complaint said.

The driver headed toward Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, but with Nelson bleeding profusely decided to stop at the store parking lot to seek help. An ambulance took Nelson to the hospital. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Talbott told investigators he had not seen Nelson or his friends for several days. Talbott had a cut on his forehead and said he had fallen, troopers said in the criminal complaint.

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