Suspect in Alaska police slayings surrenders in village

Suspect in Alaska police killings surrenders

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A man accused of killing two police officers in a small Alaska village surrendered to authorities Monday.

Alaska State Troopers said John Marvin Jr. turned himself in shortly after 9:30 a.m. in the southeast Alaska village of Hoonah. Marvin, who was taken with no injuries, is charged with two counts of first degree murder.

Marvin, 45, barricaded himself in his home after the shootings of officers Tony Wallace and Matt Tokuoka late Saturday. The officers died sometime after the shootings.

A motive for what troopers called an ambush has not been disclosed.

During the standoff, troopers and other law enforcement agencies maintained their positions through the night into Monday, authorities said. Troopers had urged residents in the shoreline community of about 800 to stay away from the area.

“We are thankful this incident resolved without further loss of life or injury,” Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters said in a statement. “Now that this incident has resolved, the community of Hoonah can hopefully start the healing process.”

Masters said two chaplains with the troopers were heading to the community, located on an island about 40 miles west of Juneau.

Just before the shootings, Tokuoka left the home of his father-in-law, George Martin. Tokuoka, 39, was off-duty and had spent the evening there before leaving with his wife and two children, Martin said.

Soon after they left, Martin heard two shots. Wallace was knocked down, and Tokuoka told his wife and children to get away and then he was shot as well, said Martin, who believes his son-in-law was trying to help the fallen officer.

Wallace, 32, was on-duty at the time of the shooting. It was unclear why he was in the area. Wallace died during surgery in Juneau and Tokuoka died at a clinic in the Native village, according to Martin.

“The whole town’s in shock,” he said Sunday. “I’ve been getting calls all day. It’s a bad situation.”

Martin said his home is just a block and a half from Marvin’s. He didn’t know why the officers were ambushed but said police have had run-ins with Marvin in the past. He said Marvin lives alone.

Bob Prunella, acting administrator in Hoonah, said the deaths leave the Tlingit community with just two full-time officers — the police chief and a trainee. He said the southeast Alaska town of Wrangell sent some officers to help out as needed.

Wallace was originally from Ohio and one of the few hearing-impaired officers in the nation, according to officials at Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York, where he attended the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. He also was a wrestler and was inducted into the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.

He first joined the Hoonah police force in 2006, left after seven months and then rejoined in 2008. He served as the small department’s evidence officer, and was recently designated as a breath-test maintenance technician.

According to the law enforcement networking website www.usacops.com, Tokuoka was a former Marine Corps staff sergeant who served in special operations. The Hawaii native had been with the department since spring 2009.