Anchorage man indicted with attempted murder after shooting at officer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A man accused of shooting at a police officer faces a potential sentence of 99 years in prison for first-degree attempted murder after being indicted by an Anchorage grand jury on Thursday.

The Anchorage Grand Jury indicted 32-year-old Joseph Fagundes with four charges — first-degree attempted murder, first-degree misconduct involving weapons, third-degree misconduct involving weapons and third-degree assault — one day after the grand jury returned a 12-count indictment of Fagundes for separate charges.

The former charges stem from the defendant firing at a police officer in a Klatt neighborhood in South Anchorage on Jan. 14. The latter charges, which include attempted sexual assault and first-degree stalking, allegedly occurred between Aug. 6, 2022 and Dec. 22, 2022.

According to the Anchorage Police Department, officers were notified that Fagundes was making threats to harm his ex-girlfriend and himself around 11:30 p.m. on Jan. 14. Officers said they then discovered that Fagundes had four outstanding warrants, including three felony warrants.

Following the report, Fagundes was found driving a gold Jeep Compass on the “east side” of Anchorage, police said, and he began running red lights near East 15th Avenue and Cordova Street in attempts to escape.

Police said that they did not pursue Fagundes due to dangerous driving, but a patrol sergeant spotted Fagundes about 30 minutes later near Hilltop Drive and West Klatt Road and proceeded to flip on his lights in an attempt to pull him over. Police said Fagundes then put his Jeep into reverse and tried backing up to get away, but the officer pinned him against a snow bank.

After getting out of his patrol car, police say the sergeant commanded Fagundes to get out, but “then heard shots being fired at him from the Jeep.”

The department said the officer did not fire back due to not having a “clear line of sight to the suspect,” but added that the patrol car was hit by bullets from Fagundes’ weapon.

Police said the officer called for backup, and responding officers later found Fagundes hiding under a trampoline in a backyard residence on Allison Circle.

After arresting Fagundes, police found a handgun under the trampoline that had been reported stolen Nov. 14, 2022, on East 87th Avenue. Police say the suspect in that reported incident forced his way into a locked pickup to steal the weapon.

After receiving medical treatment for back pain, Fagundes was questioned and jailed at the Anchorage Jail.

Police said a second person inside the Jeep with Fagundes was not criminally charged. No police officers were injured in the ordeal.

Fagundes is being held on a $250,000 bond and will be arraigned Friday, Jan. 27, for the domestic violence charges and Monday, Jan. 30, for the attempted murder indictment in Anchorage Superior Court.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information.

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