Subject of standoff re-arrested

WASILLA — A man shot in the elbow who precipitated in a bizarre standoff late last month was re-arrested this weekend.

According to Alaska State Troopers, a tip came in at 9:14 p.m., Saturday that Russell Tanner, 56, was at a home on Sarah’s Way in the subdivisions west of Lucille and south of Seldon. Tanner was reportedly violating the conditions of his release from jail. Troopers say he left the sight and sound of the person assigned to watch over him, whom court records identify as Eileen Vaughn.

Tanner had already fled, but troopers tracked him down to the home on Wolverine Drive where the standoff occurred. He was jailed without bail at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility.

Tanner was initially arrested after jumping from a second-story balcony when troopers arrived in the afternoon of Jan. 21 to investigate reports both from Tanner and his girlfriend that they had been the victims of a home-invasion robbery.

Troopers arriving first on scene saw him leap from the balcony with a gun in his hand. One trooper fired a shot.

But when troopers reported the incident, they were unsure whether the bullet that struck Tanner came from an officer on scene or from someplace else. Reached via email Monday, troopers still could not clear things up.

“That is still and open investigation and AST has no new information for the media or the public. I don’t know when the report for that initial incident will be complete,” wrote AST spokeswoman Megan Peters.

Tanner’s girlfriend came out of the house and was driven from the scene. Troopers stayed, though, and surrounded the house, employing a bullhorn and a robot with a camera attached to make sure there was no one else inside.

Once they found out the house was empty, an investigation of the scene showed no signs of a home invasion but plenty of signs that shots had been fired inside the home.

Tanner was charged with weapons misconduct for allegedly being drunk in possession of a gun. It was that charge he was out on bail for when he was re-arrested Saturday. Aside from a charge of violating conditions of release, no other charges have been added to his case since it was filed.

Jail records Monday afternoon showed he remained in custody. Court records showed he made his first court appearance on the new charge Sunday.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at Andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.