POLICE BLOTTER: June 14, 2018

Three people indicted for the 2017 homicide of Craig Berumen; Nicole Diaz is being sought by police

At 5:16 AM on Wednesday, March 08, 2017, police responded to the Executive Suites at 4360 Spenard Road in regards to a 9-1-1 call asking for help. Officers located 32-year-old Craig Berumen II deceased outside. It was a targeted drug-related crime.

On June 5, 2018, the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office presented the case to a grand jury. Three people were indicted for Berumen’s death:

22-year-old Chaz Shanigan was charged with Murder I, Murder II, Robbery I, and Misconduct Involving a Weapon III. Shanigan was in escape status at the time of Berumen’s murder; he had escaped from Cordova Center. Shanigan is currently incarcerated at Spring Creek Correctional Center serving a felony sentence.25-year-old Devontay Gordon was charged with Murder II and Robbery I. Gordon was on supervised felony probation at the time of Berumen’s murder. Gordon is currently incarcerated at Goose Creek Correctional Center serving an unrelated sentence.32-year-old Nicole Diaz was charged with Murder I, Murder II, and Robbery I. Diaz was out on bail at the time of Berumen’s murder. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

Nicole Diaz is 5’01” tall, 100 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. In addition to the above charges related to Berumen’s death, she is also an absconder from probation and has a felony Fail to Appear warrant on the original charges of Theft II and Misconduct Involving a Weapon. Anyone with information regarding Diaz’s whereabouts is asked to call non-emergency Police Dispatch at 3-1-1. To remain anonymous you may contact Crime Stoppers at 561-STOP or online at www.anchoragecrimestoppers.com.

Deen Smith arrested after allegedly stealing from employees at two downtown businesses

It was reported to APD that a black male entered Grizzly’s Gifts at 501 W 4th Avenue at 8:20 AM on June 9, 2018, stole an employee’s iPhone that had been laying on the counter, and walked out. A description of the suspect was broadcaset over the radio to on-duty officers.

At 11:08 AM on June 11, 2018, a black male crawled under a partially open garage door at Alaska Cleaners at 300 E 5th Avenue, stole a pack of cigarettes owned by an employee, crawled back under the garage door, and ran away.

Patrol officers nearby saw the suspect run and an employee running after him. As officers arrived in the area, the suspect tried to run from them. The suspect finally stopped and put his hands up at 4th Avenue and B Street. 19-year-old Deen Smith was taken into custody without further incident.

An on-duty officer recognized Smith as matching the description of the Grizzly’s Gifts suspect aired two days prior. The officer contacted the gift shop employee and obtained a photo of the theft suspect from surveillance video. The officer was able to verify Smith was the person who stole the iPhone.

Smith was remanded at the Anchorage Jail. He was charged with Burglary II and Theft III for the Grizzly’s Gifts theft and he was charged with Burglary II and Resisting for the Alaska Cleaners theft.

Kaylynn Spindler charged regarding a stolen vehicle and mail

At 9:23 PM on June 3, 2018, Anchorage Police took a stolen vehicle report on a 2015 Nissan Rogue. At the time of the theft the Nissan was parked in the parking lot of Planet Fitness on W Dimond Boulevard. The keys to the vehicle were stolen from an unsecured locker inside the gym and then used to steal the Rogue.

At 2:29 AM on June 9, 2018, a friend of the Nissan’s owner called APD and stated the stolen vehicle had just pulled in to the Planet Fitness parking lot on Benson Boulevard and the female driver went inside the gym. Officers responded and a female officer found the suspect, 28-year-old Kaylynn Spindler, in the women’s locker room. Spindler had bags with her at the time of police contact. Inside the bags officers found suspected heroine, drug paraphernalia, and stolen mail. Officers contacted the owner of the mail who stated she was unaware it had been stolen from her mailbox.

After obtaining permission from the Nissan’s owner, officers searched the vehicle and found more stolen mail from other victims.

Spindler was arrested and charged with Theft II, Vehicle Theft I, and Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance IV.

Shane Muse, Crystal Tui, and Moataa Ifopo arrested on multiple charges

On June 9, 2018, Alaska Pretrial officers made contact with 29-year-old Shane C. Muse at a residence on the 5400-block of E 26th Avenue. As the pretrial officers began putting Muse into handcuffs for violating his conditions of release from a prior arrest, Muse began to fight. According to the pretrial officers, Muse kept reaching into his pocket while in contact with them. The pretrial officers found a gun in that pocket which had been reported as stolen. During the struggle with Muse one of the pretrial officers received a cut on the leg.

APD arrived to assist the pretrial officers. Muse was arrested and remanded to jail on charges of Assault III, Theft II, Assault IV, Violating Conditions of Release, and Misconduct Involving a Weapon III (felon in possession).

25-year-old Crystal A. Tui was with Muse at the time of the incident. According to conditions of her probation, Tui is not to have contact with Muse. It was further discovered that Tui had provided Muse with the stolen weapon. Tui was remanded at the Anchorage Jail on charges of Misconduct Involving a Weapon III, Theft II, and Probation Violation.

Just prior to making contact with Muse, pretrial officers saw Muse walking up to another male who was on a motorcycle. After APD arrived on scene, an APD officer made contact with that male who was identified as 21-year-old Moataa Ifopo. A computer check revealed the motorcycle had been reported as stolen. After Ifopo was taken into custody he initially refused to identify himself. Ifopo was remanded at the Anchorage Jail on charges of Vehicle Theft I and Violations of Conditions of Release.

The handgun Muse had on him at the time of his arrest was reported as stolen to APD on May 21, 2018. The gun had been stolen from an unlocked vehicle while parked in front of a residence on the 10100-block of Hillcrest Lane in Eagle River.

The motorcycle Ifopo had at the time of his arrest had been reported as stolen to APD on September 10, 2017. The motorcycle had been taken during a burglary of a home on the 11600-block of Birch Knoll Loop.

Citizen reported a vehicle prowler; Eyob Imlach facing multiple charges

At 4:48AM on Monday, June, 11, 2018, a citizen called Police Dispatch to report a male going through parked vehicles on the 1100-block of W 32nd Avenue. An officer arrived in the area and saw a male riding a bike which matched the suspect description given by the caller. The officer gave the male multiple commands to stop which the male ignored. The officer followed the male to the dead end of Wilshire; the male got off the bike and ran on foot.

Two officers gave chase on foot through a trailer park; the suspect was jumping fences and ducking behind trailers. Officers lost sight of the male but found him again once other officers arrived in the area and set up a perimeter. A second foot chase ensued; the suspect was caught in front of a residence on the 3800-block of Indiana Street. The suspect was taken to the ground during the handcuffing process as the suspect refused to comply and actively fought with officers.

The suspect initially gave a name and date of birth that wasn’t his. When officers went back to the area where the suspect had abandoned his bicycle, they found an ID card that matched the suspect. 22-year-old Eyob Imlach was arrested, jailed, and charged with Vehicle Tampering, Obstructing by Fleeing, and False Information.

Scam Alert – identities being stolen and used to open accounts with Verizon

During the last two weeks of May 2018, APD was notified by at least six separate victims regarding Verizon phone accounts opened in their names. In all but one of the cases, each of the victims received at least one new iPhone delivered to their home along with a bill for a Verizon phone account. None of the victims were Verizon customers and none had ordered the phones. In the sixth case the victim did not receive a phone but did receive a Verizon phone bill.

All of the victims verified with Verizon that someone had opened an account with their correct name, date of birth, and social security number.

Should you receive a cell phone and/or bill from Verizon that you should not have, do not use the phone. Please file an on-line report with APD at www.muni.org/police. Also notify Verizon of the fraud so the account may be closed.

Whether or not you’ve been a victim of identity theft or fraud, it is a good idea to keep an eye on your credit report along with your monthly credit card statements. At least one of the Verizon victims noticed a credit check on their credit history that they had not asked for; the credit check occurred just prior to the victim receiving an iPhone they had not ordered.

There are a variety of ways a person’s identity can be stolen. One of the main ways is a result of people leaving purses, wallets, and personal documents in vehicles. These items are being stolen from the cars and then subsequently used to commit credit card fraud and identity theft/fraud. Do not leave anything of value in your vehicle.

Unless you need the documents for a specific purpose such as buying a house, do not carry your social security card or birth certificate with you. Those items should be left at home in a secure place. If you carry a purse or wallet, make sure you keep them on your person and do not leave them unsecured anywhere to include a shopping cart or an unlocked drawer at your workplace.

George Lockwood arrested on multiple charges in shots fired investigation

On June 5th at around 11:45 PM, Anchorage Police responded to a residence on the 5600 block of Alora Loop in reference to a report of a domestic dispute with shots fired. The preliminary investigation found that an adult male got into a domestic dispute with his wife when he pointed a gun at her head and threatened her life. The adult male fired the gun multiple times at a bedroom wall. The bullets went through the wall and into another apartment. There were two juveniles inside the main residence at the time of the incident. The apartment that had two rounds enter through their home was occupied at the time of the incident. No one was injured. When officers arrived at the scene, they were able to make contact with the suspect and take him into custody without incident.

The suspect has been identified as 45 year old George Lockwood. Lockwood was intoxicated at a level more than twice the legal limit. He was remanded at the Anchorage Jail and charged with three counts of Assault III, three counts of Reckless Endangerment, two counts of Misconduct Involving Weapons IV, and Criminal Mischief IV.

Juvenile arrested in school vandalism investigation

On 6/6/18 around 2:50 a.m., Dispatch received a report of a man banging on the window of Fire Lake Elementary School (13801 Harry McDonald Road). When officers with the Patrol Division arrived, they found two broken windows. As officers search the area, they spotted the suspect running away. They apprehended him and took him to custody for questioning.

The investigation began on 3/23/18 when a report was made about multiple graffiti marks found on the outside of the school. On 4/16/18, another report was made. Officers found a window broken and graffiti spray painted on the outside of the school. The Harry McDonald Center, located behind the school, was vandalized the same way. On 4/30/18, another report was made about another window broken by a rock. On 5/7/18, a fourth report was made about a cracked window and several rocks found outside the window.

Over the course of the investigation, officers determined the same suspect was responsible. Each time the suspect committed the crime, school officials filed a report which helped officers develop a suspect description and eventually solve this crime.

The male juvenile was arrested and charges were forwarded to the Department of Juvenile Justice.