Cops close in on killer

MAT-SU -- At least three people have been arrested that investigators with the Alaska State Troopers believe are connected to the murder of Sean Michael McIntire. McIntire was found dead in his home south of Palmer on Jan. 23. When this article went to press Monday morning, no one had been charged with murder.

Troopers arrested Michael Allen Linn, 26, in Wasilla last Thursday. Linn faces charges of tampering with evidence in a criminal investigation, hindering prosecution, and second-degree theft. According to an affidavit filed to support charges against Linn, investigators obtained a search warrant and recorded conversations between Linn and an informant. Troopers with the Palmer general investigation unit asked that the informant's name not be used in this article, because the murder investigation is still underway.

According to the affidavit, troopers recorded conversations between Linn and the informant and used unmarked cars and a state aircraft to follow the two men while they retrieved items allegedly taken from McIntire's home after the murder. The informant picked Linn up in Houston and drove him to a place off Moose Meadows Road near Bald Mountain Ridge where the two men retrieved two plastic containers buried in the snow, according to the affidavit. A samurai sword, a pump-action shotgun, some knives and a flashlight, were inside the containers, according to the affidavit, and a friend of McIntire's later identified the items as those taken from McIntire's house.

Investigator Margie Escobar wrote in the affidavit that according to the informant, McIntire owed Linn $1,600 and that Linn and a man identified as Alex Headrick, 35, of Wasilla, went to McIntire's house to collect the debt. Linn was the only person arrested as a direct result of evidence uncovered in the McIntire murder investigation, according to troopers. Linn was booked into Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility, but has since been transferred to the Anchorage Jail and is being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Headrick was arrested by Wasilla Police officers on Jan. 28, two days prior to Linn's arrest. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant for failure to comply with conditions of probation, according to a press release from troopers. Headrick was originally booked into Mat-Su Pre-Trial, but has been transferred to Cook Inlet Pre-Trial Facility in Anchorage, and is being held in lieu of $2,500 bail.

Also arrested in Wasilla on Jan. 28 was 23-year-old Erica Lynn Perry. Perry's name appears in the affidavit against Linn as one of four people believed to be at McIntire's home at the time of the murder. Perry was arrested on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court. The original charge against Perry was fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance -- she allegedly stole prescription oxycontin and fentanyl from her mother in December, according to the affidavit. Perry is being held at Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility, with bail set at $5,000 cash.

The tape-recorded conversations between Linn and the informant include Linn saying that he and Perry hid the containers, according to the affidavit. The informant reportedly told investigators that Linn, Headrick, Perry and a second woman were at McIntire's house when he was killed. A trooper investigator has asked that the second woman's name also not be reported at this time.