Man arrested after Anchorage SWAT standoff identified

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A man is facing several charges after Anchorage police say he stole two vehicles, including a taxi, and locked himself inside a person’s apartment.

Anthony C. Tinker III, 29, is charged with three counts of third-degree assault, two counts of first-degree vehicle theft, first-degree burglary, second-degree theft, third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree robbery and resisting.

Just before 6 p.m. on Monday, officers were called to Minnesota Drive near Benson Boulevard regarding a man “who was yelling and appeared to be suffering from a mental health episode,” according to a news release.

Tinker was detained and taken to a mental health facility for treatment. Upon his release, he was given a taxi voucher.

Police said Tinker then took a taxi to the Sullivan Arena and, once there, stole the taxi and crashed it at East Sixth Avenue and Fairbanks Street. The incident was reported to police at 9:22 p.m.

About half an hour later, a person called police saying a man with a handgun stole their 2011 Mercedes in an area just a couple of blocks east of where the taxi cab was crashed. Police later found the Mercedes wrecked on Van Buren Street near Sisterhood Park around 10:30 p.m.

At 9:46 p.m., police got a call from someone who said “he had been standing just outside his apartment when an injured and armed male walked inside through the open front door, ordered everyone out, and then locked himself in the apartment,” according to the release.

SWAT was called to the apartment, on Bentzen Circle, and deployed gas to get the man out of the apartment. The release said the man, identified as Tinker, was armed with a handgun and ignored officers’ commands. When he went up the outside staircase toward other apartments, two K-9s were deployed and officers were able to take him into custody.

Tinker was taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries from the car wrecks and dog bites, as well as gas exposure.

Tinker is scheduled to appear in Anchorage Jail Court on Wednesday afternoon for arraignment.

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