A Fairbanks grand jury has indicted 13 Fairbanks Correctional Center inmates on charges of rioting and criminal mischief related to an August 17th riot at the jail. The inmates took over a part of the jail for about an hour and a half before surrendering after they were tear-gassed by members of two tactical police units that were called in.
When the 13 inmates took over the A Wing of Fairbanks Correctional Center on August 17th, the jail was locked down and Wilbur Street, which leads to the facility, was closed-off. Alaska State Troopers and Fairbanks police helped Corrections staff secure the area, and both Troopers and city police called in tactical-response units. They ordered the inmates to surrender, and the prisoners responded by breaking windows and pouring slippery soap on the floors in anticipation of the officers charging in. But after police fired a volley of tear gas, the inmates surrendered.
Some of the 13 indicted inmates have lengthy criminal records that include convictions for violent offenses, and whose cases have now been reopened as a result of their roles in the riot.
They include 23-year-old Tevyn Alonza Davis, of Fairbanks, who’s charged with two counts each of first- and second-degree murder, in connection with shootings at a south side nightclub that left one man dead and another wounded in 2016.
And 24-year-old Dametrey Jaymes Rice, of Fairbanks, who’s charged with kidnapping, assault and armed robbery related a home invasion last Christmas, in which one man was pistol-whipped and another held at gunpoint.
Fairbanks District Attorney Gregg Olson was traveling today and unavailable to talk about the case.
Spokespersons for the state Department of Corrections and Alaska State Troopers didn’t respond to queries by deadline, and Fairbanks Police declined to comment.
List of the indicted inmates released Thursday by Alaska State Troopers:
Jerald Burton Jr., 24; Patrick Burton-Hill, 24; Tevyn Davis, 23; Robert Gentleman III, 39; Anthony Heard, 41; Marcus Howard, 22; Donovan Huntington, 34; Hoe Kim, 31; Nicholas Pierce, 24; Dametrey Rice, 24; R.J. Seymour, 20; Eli Simpson, 22; Justin West, 26.
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
