Alaska Public Media © 2025. All rights reserved.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Anchorage murder suspect arrested near Wasilla

Jesse Lee Jones
Anchorage murder suspect Jesse Lee Jones (From APD)

A murder suspect who escaped a massive Anchorage manhunt Monday is now in custody, according to Alaska State Troopers.

According to an online trooper dispatch, Wasilla troopers arrested Jesse Lee Jones, 27, at about 1:45 a.m. Thursday as they responded to a “verbal disturbance” near Joe's Drive in Meadow Lakes. Jones was taken into custody without incident.

Anchorage police say Jones shot and killed Josiah Goecker, 34, Monday afternoon at a sprawling Midtown apartment complex on Mockingbird Drive. Dozens of officers responded, searching the complex for hours, but Jones wasn’t found.

Troopers say they took Jones to Anchorage and handed him over to police. He is charged with first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, as well as third-degree assault.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that troopers arrested Jesse Lee Jones in Wasilla. He was arrested in Meadow Lakes, just outside of Wasilla.

Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org.