A Mountain Village man is facing first- and second-degree murder charges in the shooting death of a 35-year-old St. Mary’s resident.
Darren Peterson, 34, was on parole from a separate 2007 murder conviction when the shooting occurred Friday in the Southwest Alaska city of about 800 people. He was released from prison last year.
A witness said several people were drinking together Friday at a home when Peterson became upset with Larry Andrews and shot him in the back numerous times, according to a sworn affidavit written by Alaska State Troopers investigator Timothy Powell. Andrews died at the home.
The witness told investigators he ran from the home as Peterson was reloading the .22 caliber rifle because he was afraid he was about to be shot, the affidavit said.
Peterson turned himself in to a tribal police officer and said he shot Andrews in self-defense, the affidavit said. He is facing charges of third-degree assault and misconduct involving weapons in addition to the murder charges.
Peterson was in custody Tuesday at the Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center. He is being represented by a Bethel-based public defender but it wasn’t immediately clear which attorney would be assigned to the case.
In 2007, Peterson shot and killed his uncle while he was drinking with a group of people in Mountain Village, according to news reports at the time. He was sentenced to serve 19 years in prison, with 10 years of supervised release after. Peterson was released from custody in August, according to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Betsy Holley.