Alaska’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) is funneling resources to Fairbanks in response to a spike in violent crimes. That’s according to Capt. Tony Wegrzyn, the commander of the Alaska Bureau of Investigation (ABI), who spoke at a press availability in Fairbanks Monday.
State law enforcement officials are looking into four recent crimes involving firearms, with suspects yet to be identified in two of the cases. Officials say there is currently no evidence suggesting the crimes are related.
“We’re leveraging every resource we have at our disposal to try to bring these cases to a conclusion,” Wegrzyn said.
He said channeling personnel to a particular region can reduce what’s available elsewhere in the state, but that the situation in Fairbanks has become a top concern for the bureau.
“This takes priority. We have members who are working on other cases that can’t come to this, but anybody who could take a break is,” he said. “So, while this isn’t sustainable forever, we can bring a surge of folks to this area.”
On Friday, the bureau launched what they’re calling an attempted murder investigation after Troopers got reports of two incidents of shots being fired at Black Gold Transport ore hauling trucks as they were driving on highways between Eielson Air Force Base and Fox.
The next day, the bureau opened a homicide investigation into the death of 37-year-old Michael Boyd. In that case, Alaska State Troopers say they responded to a call just before 1 a.m. Saturday and found Boyd dead in the driver’s seat of a car by a gas station off Farmers Loop Road, near Fairbanks. Wegrzyn said Monday Boyd had died by gunfire.
In a third case over the weekend, Troopers arrested 27-year-old Brooklyn Whitman, of Anchorage, and she’s been charged with murder for allegedly shooting and killing 34-year-old Ashlee Spann Saturday at an apartment near Fairbanks, off Chena Pump Road. Troopers said they received a report of a disturbance and gunfire at the Vassar Circle residence around 2 a.m. Saturday, roughly an hour after responding to the call about Boyd.
Troopers are also still searching for 18-year-old Darius Morgan. He’s wanted in connection with the deadly shooting of a teenager at a party in Fairbanks last month.
Wegrzyn declined to answer questions Monday about where the bureau thinks Morgan is. Morgan has been indicted for murder in the case, and a warrant for his arrest recently increased from $100,000 to $1 million.
Wegrzyn said sending additional resources to an area to respond to a spike in violent crimes is standard for the bureau, but that it’s not something they’ve done in Fairbanks in recent years.
“I’ve been commander of ABI for a couple of years now, and we’ve not had to do this in Fairbanks,” he said. “There have been other regions of the state where we have had violent crime pop up – maybe not to this degree – but we have funneled resources to those areas, as well, not dissimilar to what we’re doing this weekend and moving forward.”
Austin McDaniel, an Alaska State Troopers spokesperson, said the Fairbanks area last saw a similar influx of DPS resources during the investigation into the Two Rivers arsons in 2021.
Wegrzyn said Monday they’ve already received information from the public that’s helped the ongoing investigations, but that they’re still requesting tips. He encourages people who may know something related to any of the cases to call the dispatch center at (907) 451-5100.