Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced that Demitri Kardeem Scott, 25, of Anchorage, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess, to serve 78 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

According to court documents, in the late evening of Aug. 30, 2017, Scott attempted to break into a vehicle, which drew the attention of a concerned citizen. The concerned citizen (victim) verbally confronted Scott in Town Square Park and then turned to walk home. Scott responded by firing seven shots at the victim from a .45 caliber handgun, before fleeing the scene. The victim avoided being shot by ducking behind a nearby car. When APD arrived at the scene, they found seven shell casings and droplets of Scott’s blood caused from his attempt to break into the vehicle.

Later that same night, APD officers were dispatched to the Carrs on Gambell regarding a physical disturbance with a shoplifter, who was later identified as Scott. APD arrived and found store security officers holding Scott on the ground in the parking lot. It was reported to APD that, when the security officer tried to prevent Scott from fleeing, Scott attempted to pull out a switchblade knife during the struggle. A second security officer exited the store and helped hold Scott on the ground until police arrived. APD officers found an unloaded .45 caliber handgun in Scott’s waistband following his arrest.

The recovered shell casings were ran through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which determined that the shell casings recovered at Town Square Park were fired from the firearm found in Scott’s waistband. Scott has a previous felony conviction with the State of Alaska for Burglary, and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm.

The Anchorage Police Department (APD) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of this case. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James Stinson. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

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