Update, 1:30 p.m. Tuesday:
Anchorage police have identified the victim in Saturday’s shooting at a Spenard apartment complex.
Police say 39-year-old Steven Reeves’ family has been notified of his death, in a statement updated Tuesday.
Original story:
A long-running dispute between neighbors at a Spenard apartment complex escalated to gunfire that left one of them dead Saturday, according to Anchorage police.
Tierza Hayes, 28, is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter in the man’s shooting, according to a police statement. The victim hasn’t yet been publicly identified as police notify his family.
Police said officers responded to the apartment complex, on the 3700 block of Lois Drive, at about 7:45 p.m. Saturday. Medics declared the man dead, and Hayes was initially taken to APD headquarters for an interview.
According to a charging document against Hayes, her husband called 911 and reported she had shot their neighbor during a fight. Police ordered Hayes and her husband out of their apartment, and they were detained without incident.
“Tierza was wearing a military style vest with armor plates,” police said in the charging document. “Tierza told officers she put a handgun in the hallway.”
Police found the gun inside the apartment, as well as the couple’s 4-year-old son.
Police also spoke with the victim’s brother, who was living with him. He said he was on the phone with the victim and heard the dispute leading up the shooting.
“He heard his brother say, ‘I never said I was gonna kill your kid,’” police said.
After hearing a loud noise on the line, the brother headed to the apartment with a colleague and a weapon, according to the charging document. When he arrived, the neighbors were heading into their apartment, he told police. He said he went to his brother’s apartment, found him gasping for air and performed CPR on him.
Hayes’ husband told police they had had ongoing tensions with the victim for about a year. On Saturday, he said, the couple had been moving planter pots around the complex.
“During a trip (the victim) started calling Tierza a bitch through the door of his apartment,” police said. “Tierza responded, ‘Why don’t you say that to my face.’”
According to the husband, the two began arguing and the victim allegedly threatened to throw the couple over the balcony. Hayes drew a pistol from a holster she was wearing, chambered a round and reholstered it, her husband told police.
When the victim approached holding a smartphone and apparently filming them, the husband said, he stepped between the two of them; the men collided, and the husband shoved the victim back. As he and the victim began to fight, the husband said, Hayes shot the victim once.
When police tried to speak with Hayes, she declined to discuss what happened until she had a lawyer present, the charging document said.
Hayes was being held Monday at the Hiland Mountain Correctional Center.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
