2 sentenced for 2017 murder of East Anchorage student

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - An Anchorage Superior Court judge on Monday handed down sentences for two men convicted of second-degree murder in the 2017 death of an East Anchorage High School student, Leroy Lawrence.

According to the Department of Law, Anchorage Superior Court judge Jack McKenna sentenced Anthony Raymond Salazar to 50 years (25 years suspended) and Haitim Mahir Taha to a sentence of 40 years (20 years suspended).

In addition to second-degree murder, Salazar and Taha were also sentenced to one count of first-degree assault.

The two men were involved in a drive-by shooting that killed Lawrence on his 17th birthday while the teenager was walking in the area of Irwin Street and Thompson Avenue in Mountain View. Lawrence was not known to either of the shooters. Salazar and Taha were attempting to shoot two other individuals as they were exiting their vehicle after all four men had a brief exchange at a hospital.

Taha was arrested in 2018 after fleeing the United States to Israel following the shooting.

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