A 20-year-old man was arrested Thursday in South Anchorage as the new suspect in a deadly Spenard shooting nearly two years ago. Prosecutors are now saying police initially arrested the wrong man.
Police said in a brief statement Friday that SWAT officers arrested Vincent Sandifer late Thursday night on first-degree and second-degree murder charges at a home on the 1200 block of West Dimond Boulevard. Police spokeswoman Amanda Brimanis said Friday that Sandifer was taken into custody without incident or any use of force.
That statement described Sandifer as a “second suspect” in the November 2022 shooting of Brad Robert on Chugach Way, after Anthony Tinker III, 30, was initially charged with the crime.
But prosecutor Paul Miovas Jr. said in an email later Friday to Alaska Public Media that only Sandifer will now face murder charges.
“Once Mr. Sandifer is arraigned today, the state will be dismissing the murder charges against Anthony Tinker,” Miovas wrote.
Miovas declined to discuss further details of the state’s case, citing the need to protect Sandifer’s rights as a defendant.
A charging document from 2022 against Tinker, the man first charged in the case, lays out what police initially said happened. According to charges, Robert and his girlfriend Maryann Schneider heard a dispute outside their trailer home at about 1 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2022. Schneider said in an interview shortly afterward that Robert stepped outside, but was shot as he tried to help and died moments later.
Police initially took Tinker into custody a few days later after a reported carjacking and a standoff with police.
Investigators didn’t link the two cases until two relatives of Tinker’s told them they were with him outside Robert’s trailer during the shooting and said he had pulled the trigger.
A charging document now shows Jessica and Kathleen Lowe charged with perjury.
Sandifer is in custody at the Anchorage Correctional Complex. Miovas said Tinker remains in custody on other felony charges, as court records show him awaiting trial in the carjackings and standoff.
“The state has been diligently communicating with his attorney concerning the developments in these matters throughout the process,” Miovas said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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.
