The Juneau Police Department is looking for a man suspected of assaulting three people at random in two separate attacks in the Mendenhall Valley over the weekend.
According to Juneau Police Department Deputy Chief Krag Campbell, police believe the person is a current threat to public safety.
“These do seem random. There’s not a person in custody at this time,” he said. “We want to make sure people know, like, ‘Hey, this did occur.’ Lock your doors, be vigilant, because we don’t want these types of crimes to continue.”
According to a press release, the assaults occurred early Saturday morning. The first incident occurred near Cinema Drive. Police say a woman reported at about 1:55 a.m. that an unknown man knocked on the door of her home and proceeded to punch her boyfriend in the face after he opened the door. She reported that she and her boyfriend were both then assaulted and knocked unconscious by the man, and that she was sexually assaulted.
Police say the second assault was reported near Tongass Boulevard less than 15 minutes after the man reportedly fled the first home. At 2:11 a.m., another person reported that an unknown man had entered his bedroom while he was sleeping and punched him in the face. He said the attacker then left the area. Police say the attacker was reportedly last seen walking toward Breese Street from Lori Avenue.
The victims shared different descriptions of the man who attacked them, describing him as 6 feet tall and possibly wearing a gray sweatshirt in the first incident, and as wearing a white sweatshirt and carrying a black shoulder bag in the second. Campbell said the man was not wearing a mask, but the victims were not able to provide a more detailed physical description.
Police are actively investigating both assaults, and believe they are connected. Campbell said the department has increased its presence in the area where the attacks took place and is seeking information from other residents and possible witnesses.
“We do understand the seriousness of this. We understand how these types of random type break-ins are very concerning to people,” Campbell said. “We just want people to know that we’re putting additional resources and try to identify the person, hopefully, to get a person in custody as soon as possible.”
He said police did not release information about the assaults until Wednesday because of the time it took to investigate the incidents, along with other cases competing for police resources.
Campbell encourages anyone with information to call JPD dispatch at 907-586-0600 or submit an anonymous tip through Juneau Crimeline.
