Man charged with murder in shooting near Dimond Boulevard in Anchorage

A 32-year-old man is accused of fatally shooting a well-known Anchorage homeless activist Thursday morning in a parking lot in South Anchorage, police said.

Ryan Dummler is facing charges of first- and second-degree murder in the death of 51-year-old John Martin III.

Martin, who advocated against homeless camp abatement, was known for camping on the sidewalk outside Anchorage City Hall for months in 2011, digging out a hidden campsite near the Chester Creek trail in 2013, and his improbable 2018 journey sailing from Alaska to Russia in an 8-foot dinghy.

Police said they were called to a parking lot on West Dimond Boulevard near King Street around 5 a.m. Thursday for reports of gunfire. They said officers found Martin dead with multiple gunshot wounds. Martin’s body was visible on the ground for hours after the shooting. His lower legs were still partly wrapped in a blanket. His feet were bare.

Surveillance footage from a nearby business showed Dummler walking up to Martin, who was lying on the ground, according to a criminal complaint written by an Anchorage Police Department detective and included with the charges.

Dummler could be seen pulling something off Martin, who then sat up, the complaint said.

Dummler then pointed a dark object in his left hand at Martin, who “put his arm up and turned his head away” before falling back down, according to the complaint.

Dummler ran from the scene, and police used traffic cameras to track him to an area near garbage bins at a fast-food restaurant, the complaint said. He was brought to police headquarters around 4:40 p.m. Thursday, it said.

Police are investigating what motivated the shooting and if the men knew each other, the Anchorage Police Department said. In a statement Friday, police said Dummler and Martin had a verbal argument prior to the shooting.

A police spokeswoman said the department had “nothing more to release” due to the ongoing investigation when asked for details about the altercation, which was not mentioned in the criminal complaint. She also did not answer a question about the time that lapsed between Dummler walking up to Martin and the shooting.

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Martin had a complicated past as well as a reputation for illuminating life on the fringes of the city by putting himself in the public eye. Family members on Friday described him as an inventive man who gave food and clothing to other homeless people.

His 2011 sit-down protest at City Hall as the municipality began cracking down on unsanctioned homeless campsites irked then-Mayor Dan Sullivan. In 2013, he was evicted from his tunneled site near the popular Chester Creek trail. He was deported from Russia in 2019 after his 2018 Bering Sea crossing, which he described at the time as a desperate bid to reunite with his wife and son in China.

Dummler has no prior criminal record. He was jailed at the Anchorage Correctional Complex as of Saturday afternoon.