The circumstances leading up to the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man Thursday night in the Mendenhall Valley and the name of the victim have been shared in charging documents following the arrest of a suspect Friday afternoon.
Andre P. Lawrence, 44, was arrested on a first-degree murder charge and taken to Lemon Creek Correctional Center where he is being held without bail, according to the Juneau Police Department. The arrest came after police spent about two hours serving a warrant at a residence on Riverwood Drive early Friday morning. The maximum sentence for first-degree murder in Alaska is 99 years in prison.
Charging documents identify the victim as Tyler Newman, 23. His death was reported to police shortly after 10 p.m. on Thursday, according to JPD. According to the charging documents, Lawrence became the sole suspect in the shooting early in the investigation.
According to charging documents, officers were able to obtain a video recording of the incident provided by a resident of the Chinook Apartment complex in the Mendenhall Valley which showed Newman, who was on a bike, approaching the driver-side door of a black Dodge pickup truck in the parking lot of the Chinook Apartments.
The video showed what appeared to be Newman speaking with the person in the driver seat of the vehicle and, “after some time,” the video showed Newman collapsing onto the ground where he remained without getting back up. The truck left the parking lot soon after.
According to the charging documents, upon arriving at the scene in the Chinook Apartment parking lot, JPD officers located and examined Newman’s body, and found what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the head, which is cited as the cause of death.
A witness statement in the charging documents identified the driver as “Dre” after the witness saw the person, whom they have had multiple interactions with, backing out of the parking lot in the black truck following the sounds of gunshots. They said he was alone in the vehicle.
Later Thursday evening, the charging document outlined that police located a vehicle matching the description of the truck, parked in the back parking lot of The Alaska Club on Riverside Drive. According to the charging documents, the vehicle had blood on the driver’s side door.
Upon looking up the truck’s license plate, police confirmed the vehicle was pending a transfer to Lawrence and JPD confirmed he was previously contacted operating the truck during an unrelated issue by police.
Video footage provided to police by The Alaska Club showed a man exiting the truck and walking toward the general direction of the location he would later be detained following a search warrant.
According to charging documents, Lawrence was wearing similar clothing as shown in the video of the man leaving the truck at The Alaska Club.
Following the announcement of Lawrence’s arrest on Friday, JPD spokesperson Eran Kalwara said “JPD has no outstanding concern for public safety related to this event.”
According to the state’s court system, Lawrence has a history of multiple assault and criminal mischief convictions. Lawrence had his first felony appearance on Saturday and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 18.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
