A judge has set bail at $750,000 for a Fairbanks man charged with two counts of attempted murder.Also during Wednesday’s arraignment, a not-guilty plea was entered for 19-year-old Benjamin James Kameroff Akaran, who’s being held at Fairbanks Correctional Center for shooting one person in the head on Tuesday and trying to shoot another.
A correctional center booking office worker says if Akaran posts bail, he could be released to pre-trial services if he posts bail and agrees to electronic monitoring.
Akaran was arrested around 1 p.m. Tuesday after a two-hour manhunt that involved multiple area law-enforcement agencies and their resources, including armored vehicles and an Alaska State Troopers helicopter.
Police say Akaran shot a woman in the head and attempted to fire shots at a man while the three were at an east-side residence Tuesday morning. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports Akaran pointed his handgun at the man, but it jammed and the man escaped and called police at around 11 a.m., triggering the manhunt.
Police directed the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District to lock down an elementary and middle school in the Aurora subdivision, where the shooting occurred. The district also placed a second elementary school into “sit-tight” mode, a lower-level security response.
Akaran reportedly got a ride from his mother to their west-side home, where he was captured.
The News-Miner reports the woman was gravely wounded and was fighting for her life at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
A city police spokeswoman said Wednesday an investigation into the shooting is ongoing. She said police are asking members of the public to contact them if they have any information on the case
