A man injured by a shot fired by a Juneau Police Department officer in December — who then was extradited to Washington on a 2005 warrant — is back in Juneau and has been indicted by a grand jury on one count of failure to stop at the direction of an officer, in connection with the shooting.
In January, state investigators cleared JPD Sgt. Chris Gifford of any wrongdoing in the shooting of Jeremie Shaun Tinney, 38.
According to the report issued by Assistant Attorney General June Stein, with the state of Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions, Gifford fired at Tinney because he believed him to be armed with a long rifle.
On Dec. 3, Gifford was dispatched to Ocean View Drive after two 911 calls at about 4 a.m. reporting a motor vehicle crash, with an SUV in a ditch.
The SUV had been involved in an earlier pursuit, and Tinney reportedly had threatened to shoot officers in the past, according to the report. Tinney refused to exit the vehicle and eventually crawled into the back.
Gifford saw Tinney point what he thought was a rifle at another officer and a paramedic, then swing it his way. Gifford fired one round, which went through the middle window and a head rest. Tinney was injured by glass and shrapnel and was subsequently taken into custody.
Tinney had been wanted by Washington state since 2005 for failing to abide by the terms of probation in a 1997 felony conviction for abusing his 2-year-old son. He was returned to Whatcom County on Dec. 6 and was sentenced in early January to 180 days in jail for the probation violation.
On March 13, the state of Alaska filed a fugitive complaint with Whatcom County and Tinney was extradited back to Juneau.
On Thursday, Tinney was arraigned in Superior Court and pleaded not guilty. His bail was set at $10,000 and a bail hearing was set for May 4.
Man indicted on multiple counts of credit card theft
The grand jury also indicted Christopher Denzmore Jr., 23, on multiple theft counts.
The charges stemmed from Nov. 18, 2016, according to the criminal complaint. Denzmore was charged with three counts of second-degree theft, a Class C felony, after he allegedly stole several credit cards, including Alaska Airlines Visa cards and a Wells Fargo debit card. He was not held on three other counts involving a Costco American Express card, a Wells Fargo debit card and a JC Penney credit card.
Denzmore already was in custody on a prior case, involving fourth-degree assault, fourth-degree theft and third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance. According to Assistant District Attorney Angie Kemp, Denzmore is accused of kicking a sleeping man in the face and stealing his backpack on April 8. That case is set for trial July 18.
Denzmore appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty; his bail was set at $5,000. He next will be in court on May 22 with a trial set for July 24.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
