Police have released the name of a young man who was found beaten unconscious in an abandoned building in Downtown Anchorage Monday night. The victim has been identified as James Clinton, 18, of Anchorage.
Besides releasing his name, police have also released a photo of James Clinton, the young man who was severely beaten and left for dead in an abandoned building in downtown Anchorage earlier this week.
Anita Shell is a spokesperson for the Anchorage Police Department. She says investigators are calling on the public to help them figure out what happened to Clinton.
“We’re really trying to piece together any information that we can come up with that led to his assault and who assaulted him and why,” Shell said. “So we’re asking folks to come forward.”
“If they fear retaliation and want to remain anonymous, they could always do that through our crime stoppers line. And that’s 561-STOP. Or they could submit a tip online, also anonymously at anchoragecrimestoppers.com.”
Police say Clinton may have ties to the Mat-su valley, went by several nicknames and he frequented the downtown area.
Around 8:30 Monday night someone slid an anonymous note under the door of the University of Alaska Police Department, tipping them off that Clinton was being held in a vacant building in downtown Anchorage. Campus police handed the case off the APD. Officers went to the building where they found Clinton severely beaten.
Clinton remains unconscious and in critical condition at a local hospital. The building where Clinton was found belongs to Covenant House, a non-profit that helps homeless teens. It was scheduled for demolition Thursday.
Police say Clinton’s family has been notified and they were able to confirm his identity. No arrests have been made.
Daysha Eaton is a contributor with the Alaska Public Radio Network.
Daysha Eaton holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College, and a M.A. from the University of Southern California. Daysha got her start in radio at Seattle public radio stations, KPLU and KUOW. Before coming to KBBI, she was the News Director at KYUK in Bethel. She has also worked as the Southcentral Reporter for KSKA in Anchorage.
Daysha's work has appeared on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered", PRI's "The World" and "National Native News". She's happy to take assignments, and to get news tips, which are best sent via email.
Daysha became a journalist because she believes in the power of storytelling. Stories connect us and they help us make sense of our world. They shed light on injustice and they comfort us in troubled times. She got into public broadcasting because it seems to fulfill the intention of the 4th Estate and to most effectively apply the freedom of the press granted to us through the Constitution. She feels that public radio has a special way of moving people emotionally through sound, taking them to remote places, introducing them to people they would not otherwise meet and compelling them to think about issues they might ordinarily overlook.
