Trooper named in fatal shooting

MAT-SU — Alaska State Troopers on Monday released the name of one of their officers who shot and killed a Sutton man following a standoff last week.

Trooper Neal E. Miner, a six-year veteran assigned to the Palmer Post, shot and killed Theodule LeJeune, 58, of Sutton, on May 23.

The incident began the day before when troopers went to LeJeune’s home to serve him with a domestic violence protective order. Media reports based on court documents say a woman he lived with had filed for protection because of LeJeune’s repeated threats and ready access to guns.

On May 22, as troopers tried to serve the order — which directed LeJeune to leave the home — he allegedly got combative. According to media reports, one trooper dropped a “pepper spray device” through a window into the room LeJeune was in and LeJeune produced a shotgun he pointed at them, causing troopers to retreat.

The judge who issued the order told the troopers that the order didn’t need to be served if LeJeune wouldn’t leave peacefully. So troopers departed but, through phone calls, continued to try to get LeJeune to leave.

They also started criminal proceedings and were granted a pair of warrants for LeJeune — one to search his house and a second to arrest him on charges of disorderly conduct, violating a protective order and assaulting the troopers when he pointed the gun at them.

Warrants in hand, troopers returned May 23, accompanied by crisis negotiators, a SERT team — which other jurisdictions refer to as a SWAT team — and an armored Tactical Response Vehicle. Troopers say they attempted multiple times to disarm LeJeune “with less lethal tools” to no success.

When LeJeune eventually exited the house, troopers say he had a gun in hand. They tried again to disarm him, this time using the armored truck. But they failed and LeJeune fired at officers who’d taken up positions outside the armored vehicle. That’s when Miner fired.

As is policy for all “officer involved shootings,” the Alaska Bureau of Investigation will investigate the matter, and eventually turn its evidence over to the state’s Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals for a legal determination regarding whether the use of force was justified.

Court records indicate that had LeJeune been arrested that day, the felony charges he faced would have been the most serious he’d faced in Alaska.

In 1998, he faced a misdemeanor assault charge until it was dropped. Other than that his history contains nothing more serious than a traffic ticket.

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