3 men charged in Anchorage woman’s cold-case shooting

A police car marked as Anchorage Police.
An Anchorage police vehicle at a crime scene (Valerie Lake/Alaska Public Media).

Three men now face murder charges in the shooting death of an Anchorage woman nearly three years ago.

Court records show Neville Herndon, 42; Claymonte Otero, 24; and Myron Clark, 30, each charged with first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder and three counts of first-degree assault in the death of 28-year-old Alexandra Briseno.

According to an initial police statement, Briseno’s body was found early on Nov. 26, 2021 – the day after Thanksgiving – when officers responded to a shots-fired call on the 3100 block of Cheechako Street, in a residential area off West Benson Boulevard. Officers also found a man with gunshot wounds, who was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Few additional details were available this week about the men charged.

An indictment against the men, returned Thursday by a grand jury, lists nearly two dozen search warrants and six witnesses consulted as evidence. It does not explain how or why Briseno was shot, or what led police to the three men.

State prosecutors declined to comment.

Anchorage TV station Alaska’s News Source reported Monday that Herndon and Otero pleaded not guilty during an initial court appearance, with Otero appearing by phone. Briseno’s mother said she was “grateful and relieved” that police had made progress in the case.

Herndon is being held at the Cook Inlet Pretrial Facility in Anchorage, while Otero is being held at the Spring Creek Correctional Facility near Seward. Clark is not in custody, and court records show an arrest warrant with a total bail of $300,000 issued for him Thursday.

a portrait of a man outside

Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him atcklint@alaskapublic.org.Read more about Chrishere.

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