His son, Jeremy Ewing, 34, was diagnosed recently with paranoid schizophrenia. Alaska, and the Valley in particular, is woefully lacking in resources for the homeless mentally ill, Ewing said.
“I’ve talked to the (Wasilla) mayor, he’s on some kind of committee for the homeless,” he said. “We’re actively looking for a place now where people can not be turned away.”
|
|
“I was glad he did because Verne and I are close,” Ewing said. He said he has since learned bits and pieces about what happened.
Alaska State Troopers are investigating the case but did not return calls for comment as of press time.
“My son had no weapons on him, just a roll of duct tape and the intent wasn’t to hurt anybody, the intent was just to steal some marijuana,” Ewing said, adding, the shooter, “shot my son in the face.”
Ewing said his son had recently been in jail on vehicle theft and drunken driving charges. His father said he wasn’t excusing Jeremy’s actions. “What he did was wrong. He paid for it with his life.”
He said his son’s mental illness hadn’t been diagnosed until his most recent stint in jail, when his family was finally able to get him to see a psychiatrist.
“We always thought he was just a free spirit,” Ewing said, recounting the story of his son moving to Hawaii.
The family had gone to Kauai for a vacation.
“When we got ready to leave Jeremy says, ‘I’m going to stay,’” Ewing said. “He stayed and he’d live on the beach and he learned how to surf.”
Once his son was back in Alaska, he had trouble holding down a job, spent most of his days crashing with friends or living outside. Ewing said one time his son almost froze to death sleeping in a Dumpster behind Carrs in Wasilla, instead of asking his dad for a place to sleep.
“I’m two blocks from Carrs,” he said. “I wouldn’t turn anybody away, especially not my son, into the freezing cold.”
His son was into martial arts and also Renaissance-faire-style historical re-enactment. He had also briefly lived in San Diego and told the family he’d been offered a part in “Pirates of the Caribbean 2.”
He could do every sound from the movie Star Trek,” he said. “He could do varied dialects like you wouldn’t believe. He was a natural actor.”
The details of the robbery are sketchy, but Ewing said it happened at 9 a.m. Aug. 29 when his son broke into a house that appeared to have contained a marijuana grow.
There were other people involved, probably people his son met in prison, Ewing said, didn’t want get too far into the details, fearing he might compromise an ongoing trooper investigation.
He said troopers have done a bang-up job thus far. One of them, Sgt. Michelyn Grigg, he said joked with him that she was putting in so many hours she needed some help with childcare.
“One night she asked me if I could baby-sit her kid. They were going to work all night. I said, ‘No problem, bring him over.’”
Ewing didn’t end up baby-sitting.
He said such a crime was completely out of the ordinary for his son.
“We’d leave our wallets laying around the house, money, and he never touched it,” Ewing said. “He found a purse in the parking lot of one of the grocery stores, never even opened it up. He just brought it in and handed it to management,” he said.
The drunken driving and vehicle theft charges were also out of the ordinary. Ewing said that his son’s attorney was trying to work out a deal that included sending Jeremy to Akeela House in Anchorage for treatment. But his son, probably acting on bad advice from his fellow inmates, instead decided to plead to the charges and get out.
Ewing said he last saw Jeremy two weeks before his death.
“I gave him a hug and I said you be careful and I said I love you.”
He hopes that maybe Jeremy’s death will shed some light on an issue that needs to be addressed, noting that the only major statewide mental institution — the Alaska Psychiatric Institute — hasn’t expanded in years.
“Jeremy may have been the lightening bolt that will wake this community up,” Ewing said.
But even before he gets started working on that issue, Ewing said some good has already come from Jeremy’s death.
“It’s already helped people. I had a friend of mine who hadn’t talked to his sister in 24 and a half years, and he called here crying,” Ewing said. “He says, ‘Mark, guess what, I called (my sister) and we’re going to meet for coffee.’”
Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.
Comments
28 comment(s)Thought wrote on Sep 11, 2009 6:32 PM:
Kallen wrote on Sep 8, 2009 10:29 PM:
Jeremy did always have a smile on his face every time I saw him.
All the Ewings are wonderful people! Thank you all for being a part of my life!
Alyssa...you go girl
Kallen "
carolynn wrote on Sep 7, 2009 2:10 PM:
AND wrote on Sep 7, 2009 10:57 AM:
Our CONSTITUTION in Alaska protects us.
Hello, Ravin?
Some people. "
Get it Right wrote on Sep 7, 2009 12:22 AM:
Get it Right needs a Federal Law book. wrote on Sep 6, 2009 10:55 AM:
my name is jeff hewitt wrote on Sep 6, 2009 8:13 AM:
i will protect what is mine with whatever force i deem necessaery at that moment.
i am american.
jef hewitt, wasilla alaska "
Nancy Sult wrote on Sep 6, 2009 7:27 AM:
Alyssa wrote on Sep 6, 2009 2:02 AM:
Get it Right 5 wrote on Sep 5, 2009 4:22 PM:
Get it Right 4 wrote on Sep 5, 2009 4:19 PM:
Get it Right 3 wrote on Sep 5, 2009 4:18 PM:
(1) on premises
(A) that the person owns or leases;
(B) where the person resides, temporarily or permanently; or
(C) as a guest or express or implied agent of the owner, lessor, or resident; "
Get it Right 2 wrote on Sep 5, 2009 4:15 PM:
(4) sexual assault in the first degree;
(5) sexual assault in the second degree;
(6) sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree; or
(7) robbery in any degree. "
Get it Right 1 wrote on Sep 5, 2009 4:14 PM:
AS 11.81.335. Justification: Use of Deadly Force in Defense of Self.
(a) Except as provided in (b) of this section, a person who is justified in using nondeadly force in self-defense under AS 11.81.330 may use deadly force in self-defense upon another person when and to the extent the person reasonably believes the use of deadly force is necessary for self-defense against
(1) death;
(2) serious physical injury; "
Fairview Loop Family wrote on Sep 5, 2009 9:59 AM:
TTOSBT wrote on Sep 5, 2009 9:40 AM:
not true wrote on Sep 5, 2009 8:32 AM:
he may have thought the roll of duct tape was a weapon.
get the facts.
furthermore, if he is charged he will show the criminals past assault with a deadly weapon conviction as proof of intent.
regardless if he was unarmed.
get the facts.
protect your rights and property. "
wait and see wrote on Sep 5, 2009 12:39 AM:
try reading the law wrote on Sep 4, 2009 9:31 PM:
Oops wrote on Sep 4, 2009 7:44 PM:
Doesn't matter that he didn't have a gun if he was a threat he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was committing a crime. "
Pure justice wrote on Sep 4, 2009 6:07 PM:
Any responsible homeowner has a constitutional right in this state to defend his property and or family no matter what the circumstances are.
If the investigation determines the alleged grower was over his personal use limit then the most serious punishment should be limited to that charge.
Justice served. "
To TerryS wrote on Sep 4, 2009 5:53 PM:
A family friend wrote on Sep 4, 2009 5:19 PM:
I first met Jeremy years ago, before he was ill. He was sweet, caring, and always smiling. He was creative and bright, and I was always impressed by his openness and gentle demeanor. I will choose to always remember him that way.
Mental illness touches not only the least of us, but also the best of us, and our families. My sympathies to the Ewing family and to everyone who has been touched by this, or a similar tragedy. "
TerryS wrote on Sep 4, 2009 4:39 PM:
English anyone wrote on Sep 4, 2009 2:49 PM:
We do appreciate the information, no matter how *Unedumicated* it sounds. "
Thieves beware wrote on Sep 4, 2009 2:45 PM:
It's that simple. "
Unknown wrote on Sep 4, 2009 2:07 PM:
jared hamlin wrote on Sep 4, 2009 1:58 PM: