BUTTE, ALASKA — An amazingly violent home invasion involving four men in the middle of nowhere Alaska ended when the wife and husband made a desperate combined effort to fight off the attackers.
The wife was able to resist one of the men, believed to be Shaquan M. Johnson of Anchorage, when he attacked her in the garage. The husband awoke to the screams of his wife at approximately 12:15 a.m., according to the Frontiersman, and retrieved a handgun to investigate. Another suspect, unidentified at this time, charged through the narrow hallway corridor, fired a round and then dove out a nearby window. The shot hit the husband but the husband managed to return fire.
An investigation by Alaska police involved a K-9 unit that was able to track down the first suspect, Shyheim Chavis. Using cell phone telemetry, the police were then able to place Johnson and another two as yet unnamed accomplices to the scene of the crime at the time.
Chavis was already incarcerated at the time for unrelated crimes. Once in the hot seat, he gave up Johnson and two of his other accomplices.
Unsurpisingly, one of the suspects was already dead. Xeryus “Iggy” Tate, 17, was murdered back in July of this past year. Both Johnson and Chavis are being charged with his murder alongside the injuries done to the husband and wife, damage to their property, and everything related to the home invasion itself. They’re both under a half million dollars bond pending trial.
Four against two could have easily ended with both the husband and wife being killed. In Butte, no one can hear you scream except maybe those under the same roof as you.
Thankfully, the husband and wife were both able to put up enough of a fight that the four attackers had to flee. Getting killed or seriously injured at the scene of a crime is tantamount to a complete and total failure — as these “professionals” demonstrated. If one guy goes down, he can finger the rest.
Because there are four known criminals in this case and only two were specifically mentioned, we’re going to go out on a limb and say the third one definitely played some role in nailing down those convictions.
The teenager, obviously, didn’t make it.
This is some serious muck, folks. It’s the worst nightmare of any homeowner matched with the knowledge that Alaska troopers will arrive — but it won’t be in time to do anything but bag and tag evidence.
In order to stay on the side of the living, you first have to fight. It’s an utter truth.
Who the heck knows why these four criminals targeted this one household an hour outside Anchorage to hurt these people? All we know is that if they hadn’t had the means to fight back, this very well could have ended much worse. Gun ownership is important in the preservation of life and property. Never forget it. This family sure won’t.
