Update on 1/19/24:

From the Attorney General’s Office:

Jan. 19, 2024 (Anchorage, AK) – Today, 40-year-old Johnny Brandon Lee Johnson was sentenced by Anchorage Superior Court Judge Catherine Easter for the murder of 69-year-old Alan Wagers on Jan. 18, 2022.

In August 2023, an Anchorage jury found Johnson guilty of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and one count of tampering with physical evidence. At trial, the evidence showed that Johnson was living with Mr. Wagers at a residence at 2642 Cottonwood Street in Anchorage. Johnson and Mr. Wagers had a verbal disagreement about another person being at the residence. Johnson then retrieved a hatchet from his room and attacked Mr. Wagers in his living room. Mr. Wagers was struck multiple times in his head, face, right arm, and right hand. Johnson fled the scene and was not located until March 2022. Despite being gravely injured, Mr. Wagers survived for 40 days before ultimately succumbing to his injuries from the attack.

At the time of the murder, Johnson was on parole for first-degree assault from an incident in 2006 in which Johnson seriously injured three people.

At sentencing, the second-degree murder convictions merged into a single conviction for first-degree murder. The court was permitted to sentence Johnson to a sentence of active imprisonment between 30 and 99 years. The State requested a sentence of 99 years with none suspended. Johnson requested a sentence of 40 years with 10 years suspended. In emotional victim impact statements, Wagers’ daughters testified about the impact that losing their father had on their lives and talked about how nice of a person he was.

Judge Easter found that Johnson was a “worst offender” and found several statutory aggravating factors applied by analogy to the murder. Judge Easter discussed Johnson’s lengthy criminal, primarily assaultive, criminal history and found that his rehabilitative prospects were “nonexistent” and “poor at best.” She indicated that Johnson is an “extremely dangerous person” and expressed no doubt that he would attack again. She determined that isolation of Johnson and community condemnation for his crimes were the primary sentencing factors to be considered.

Johnson was sentenced to 99 years with none suspended. He will not be eligible for discretionary parole until he serves 66 years of his sentence.

This case was investigated by the Anchorage Police Department’s robbery-assault and homicide units. Johnson is currently in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections.

Update on 08/11/23:

From the District Attorney’s Office:

Today, an Anchorage jury convicted 39-year-old Johnny Brandon Lee Johnson of one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and one count of tampering with physical evidence.

At trial, the evidence showed that Johnson was living with 69-year-old Alan Wagers at a residence at 2642 Cottonwood Street in Anchorage. On Jan. 18, 2022, Johnson and Mr. Wagers had a verbal disagreement about another person being at the residence. Johnson then retrieved a hatchet from his room and attacked Mr. Wagers in his living room. Mr. Wagers was struck multiple times in his head, face, right arm, and right hand. Johnson fled the scene and was not located until March 2022. Despite being gravely injured, Mr. Wagers survived for 40 days before ultimately succumbing to his injuries received from the attack.

At the time of the murder, Johnson was on parole for first-degree assault stemming from an incident in 2006 in which Johnson seriously injured three people.

Superior Court Judge Catherine Easter presided over the trial. Sentencing is scheduled for January 19, 2024. Johnson faces up to 99 years imprisonment for the murder convictions and up to five-years imprisonment for the evidence tampering conviction. Johnson is being held without bail by the Alaska Department of Corrections. This case was investigated by the Anchorage Police Department’s Robbery-Assault and Homicide Units.

Update on 5/27/22:

From the District Attorney’s Office:

May 27, 2022 (Anchorage, AK) – Yesterday, an Anchorage grand jury returned an indictment charging 38-year-old Johnny Brandon Johnson with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and one count of tampering with physical evidence for the January 18, 2022, murder of Alan Wagers.

Johnson is currently being held without bail by the Department of Corrections in this case. He faces up to 99 years for the first-degree murder and second-degree murder charges, and up to 5 years for the evidence tampering charge.

These charges are only allegations and are not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Johnson is currently being held without bail by the Department of Corrections in this case. He is scheduled to be arraigned before the Superior Court in Anchorage on May 31, 2022.

CONTACT: Anchorage Assistant Attorney General Patrick McKay at (907) 269-5100 or patrick.mckay@alaska.gov.

More information about the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office is available at http://www.law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/adao.html.

Update on 3/16/22:
At 12:39 AM on March 16, 2022, mid-shift patrol officers spotted a Chevy Silverado near W 27th Avenue and Spenard Road that had eluded them a few nights prior.  Once the eluding car was driven into a nearby parking lot, patrol vehicles moved up to block the eluding car in.  The suspect driver put his truck into reverse and accelerated quickly.  He backed over a snow berm and into a patrol vehicle.  The suspect continued to drive backwards through the parking lot until he high centered his truck on a snowbank.  The suspect fled from the truck on foot. Officers gave chase and took the suspect into custody at 12:45AM behind a building on the 800-block of W 26th Avenue.

The suspect was identified as 38-year-old Johnny B. L. Johnson. Johnson was remanded on his outstanding felony warrant. He was additionally charged with Eluding, Criminal Mischief, and Assault III. Johnson remains a Person of Interest in a January 2022 homicide. No charges related to that death have been filed at this time.

APD Case 22-8510

Original on 3/10/22:

At 5:03 PM on January 18, 2022, Anchorage Police responded to a residence on the 2600-block of Cottonwood Street regarding an adult male who had been assaulted.  Upon arrival officers located 69-year-old Alan Wagers inside his home.  Wagers was transported to a hospital where he remained until February 27th when he passed away due to his injuries. 

38-year-old Johnny B. L. Johnson has been identified as a Person of Interest in this case.  Johnson is 5’11” tall, 215 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. If you have information regarding Johnson’s whereabouts, please call APD Dispatch at 3-1-1 (option #1). To remain anonymous you may contact Crime Stoppers online at www.AnchorageCrimeStoppers.com. Johnson already has an unrelated felony parole violation warrant for the original charges of Assault I, Assault III, Assault IV, and Tampering with Physical Evidence.

APD Case 22-1980

For information on how to obtain the criminal history of any Alaskan, you may do so online via Court View on the State’s website.