Arrest made in fatal Memorial Day shooting

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - An arrest has been made in connection with a shooting on Memorial Day that left one man dead in Anchorage’s Spenard neighborhood.

According to a report from the Anchorage Police Department, 33-year-old Nathan J. Williams was walking near the intersection of Debarr Road and Muldoon Road shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday night when he was spotted by members of APD’s Investigative Support Unit. Williams ran from the officers and into nearby woods, after which police established a perimeter and made multiple requests for Williams to surrender himself.

A canine officer tracked him to an area on Old Harbor Road, near Creekside Street, where Williams was again given chances to surrender before canine officer Midas was released. Midas located Williams in a wood pile, biting the suspect, and allowing officers to take him into custody.

Williams was treated at a local hospital for a dog bite wound.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting near the intersection of Minnesota Drive and Spenard Road at 12:39 a.m. on Memorial Day, where a man later identified as 34-year-old Shnon Choi was found dead with trauma to the upper body. The two were believed to be acquaintances who got into an argument that escalated and resulted in the death of Choi.

A warrant for Williams’ arrest was issued on June 2 for charges of first-degree and second-degree murder in Choi’s death.

Three other warrants were also issued for Williams, none of which relate to the May 29 killing. He faces charges of second-degree assault, third-degree assault, second-degree theft, multiple charges of second- and third-degree misconduct involving a weapon, failure to stop, and multiple charges of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second, third, fourth, and fifth degree.

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