No Arrests So Far in 2013's Four Homicides

Police say they have leads in all cases

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By Lauren Maxwell
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Story Created: Feb 20, 2013 at 6:02 PM AKDT

Story Updated: Feb 20, 2013 at 7:12 PM AKDT

ANCHORAGE - Less than two months into the new year and Anchorage has already seen four homicides, and just as troubling, no arrests. Anchorage detectives have their work cut out for them.

“It would be a high average if we continue at this pace,” said APD’s Captain of Detectives, Ross Plummer.

Last year Anchorage saw a total of 18 homicides, today, only two of those remain unsolved. But this year started with a double murder. On January 13, two men who were roommates, 38-year-old Melvin Kosbruck and 67-year-old Gary Erwin were killed in their Mountain View apartment.

Five days later, 21-year-old T.R.E.L. Zwako was found dead by his roommates. His death was also
ruled a homicide. And just this past Monday, a 26-year-old man, Prudy Alston, was shot on East 20th Street.

“We have leads that we are following in every one of the cases,” said Plummer. “And as soon as we get some of that information back we are pursuing right now, we hope to make arrests in a few.”

Police say it’s challenging to have so many cases in such a short period of time, but they are confident things will level off.

“Those patterns sometimes happen, but it usually ends up at the end of the year that we fall, hopefully, below what our previous year was,” said Plummer, referring to the murder rate.

Police don’t believe the cases are random or related and they don’t believe the public has to worry about murder suspects on the loose. They say most murder victims know who their killers are, or, are somehow involved in risky behavior that puts them in harm’s way.

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TedtheBear said on Wednesday, Feb 20 at 11:28 PM

APD is slacking off a bit, eh?

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UnAlaska said on Thursday, Feb 21 at 1:23 AM

so glad i moved out of Anchorage, nothings going to change, this is the worst place in Alaska.

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