Anchorage, Alaska – U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced
that Antoni Peralta, 33, of Anchorage, was found guilty on Friday, Sept. 6,
2019, after a three-day federal jury trial.
The jury found Peralta guilty of being a felon in possession of a
firearm and associated ammunition in connection with the December 2016 gunfight
on Donna Road in Anchorage.
According to evidence presented at trial, on the evening of
Dec. 16, 2016, Peralta had a confrontation with a man in an Anchorage bar. Peralta then got into his vehicle and left
the bar, turning onto Donna Road, out of suspicion that the man had followed
him. He saw a black SUV and a white SUV,
and gunshots rang out down the residential street. Peralta reached for his Smith & Wesson
.40 caliber pistol and Federal .40 caliber ammunition and shot at the
SUVs. Peralta, injured by gunfire,
crawled from his vehicle to the steps of a nearby home while the SUVs left the
area.
Law enforcement officers arrived to investigate the shooting
and approached Peralta who was still at the steps of a nearby home. He required medical treatment and was
hospitalized. During a search of
Peralta’s bullet-riddled vehicle, police found a pistol with a live round and a
magazine with additional ammunition.
Peralta has five prior convictions within the state of
Alaska for crimes including robbery, vehicle theft, felon in possession of a
firearm, and failure to stop at the direction of a police officer. As someone previously convicted of a felony
offense, Peralta was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
As part of his 2005 robbery conviction, Peralta was involved
in a Dimond Center mall shooting that led to the death of another individual. Specifically, in efforts to avoid police
contact after the shooting, Peralta hid out in a home in Wasilla for days. After law enforcement officers found the
hideout, Peralta and eight other people fled the home and packed into an
SUV. Law enforcement officers persuaded
the driver to stop the vehicle. As the
driver opened the driver’s side door, Peralta pushed the driver out of the car
and jumped into the driver’s seat.
Peralta led law enforcement on a 90-mile-per-hour chase for 21
miles. After law enforcement officers
deployed spike strips, Peralta drove the SUV until the tires shredded from the
rims and finally stopped. Alaska State
Troopers found Peralta in the driver’s seat and six additional passengers
inside, including one infant.
As a result of Peralta’s most recent federal conviction, he
faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000
fine. Under the Federal Sentencing
Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of
the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
The Anchorage Police Department (APD), the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives (ATF), and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI) conducted the investigation, with assistance from the
Alaska Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory, leading to the successful
prosecution of this case. This case is
being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen Vandergaw and Allison
O’Leary.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment