ANCHORAGE — A 27-year-old man suspected of shooting at police officers in the nation’s northernmost community has been charged with attempted murder and attempted felony assault.
North Slope Borough police arrested Herbert Adams on Wednesday night at a cabin about 30 miles outside of Barrow. Adams is the son of Jacob Adams Sr., a community elder, whaling captain and public official. He is the borough’s current chief administrative officer.
Fairbanks assistant district attorney Johnny Hayes said Herbert Adams was scheduled for arraignment Thursday afternoon. Online court documents did not list an attorney for Adams. He remained jailed at the North Slope Borough Correctional Center.
According to the criminal complaint, Adams’ mother, Lucille Adams, called 911 just before 6 p.m. Monday to report her son was drunk and shooting his gun in an upstairs room of her home. She was fleeing the house as she called police, investigators said.
When patrol cars pulled up, shots were fired at officers.
Police attempted to set up a perimeter. A bullet hit a patrol car near Officer Byron Johnson, who had taken cover behind a cruiser, according to the complaint.
Johnson and emergency medical services technician Kalen Texeria fled and took cover behind a house. Shots continued, striking a commercial garbage bin and the ground in front of officers.
Jacob Adams Sr. called police about 45 minutes after the initial report. He said his son had texted him saying he was armed with a .223-caliber rifle and bombs used to kill whales. The younger Adams told his father that he was going to use the weapons if police did not back off.
Police said that just before 7:30 p.m., officers saw someone from the house get on a snowmobile and flee.
No one was injured in the incident.
Prosecutors obtained a warrant for Adams, and North Slope Borough police requested assistance from Alaska State Troopers.
The borough announced Thursday that its Search and Rescue Department received a call Wednesday night by VHF radio from Herbert Adams. He said he was at a cabin 30 miles outside Barrow and that he needed assistance and was unarmed.
Search and Rescue Department personnel flew by helicopter to the cabin with borough police officers, who arrested Adams.
