Arron Young, a reputed member of the Crips street gang, is scheduled to go to trial the week of Nov. 2 on three counts of attempted murder

Twenty-three-year-old Arron Young, a reputed member of the Crips street gang, is scheduled to go to trial the week of Nov. 2 on three counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident.On the afternoon of Aug. 15, 2008, Fairbanks police responded to several reports that the occupants of two speeding vehicles were firing at each other on College Road between Aurora Drive and Danby Street.Three people in a green Buick said they were shot at by people inside a silver Isuzu SUV. The Buick had been struck by multiple bullets fired from a handgun.Several moving vehicles also were hit by bullets, and a bicyclist on the sidewalk took cover as the bullets flew. No injuries were reported.Young was arrested several weeks later after being identified as the driver of the Isuzu.At a hearing Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Crail said that at trial she will call a gang expert from the Fairbanks Police Department, who will testify the College Road shooting was in retaliation for an incident five days earlier at the Eagles Hall.In that incident, about a half dozen people were involved in a verbal altercation that resulted in gunfire. Sixteen spent shell casings were found at the scene, though no injuries were reported. Witnesses gave police little information about who was involved.
Fairbanks police Lt. Tara Tippett said the case still is open, and military officials also are investigating. Soldiers from Fort Wainwright are believed to have been involved in both the College Road and Eagles Hall incidents.There is no indication Young was involved in the Eagles Hall incident, but Crail said the incident will provide a motive for the College Road shooting.“The expert testimony will be that in gang culture, he only needed to know about it to have a motive,” she said.The Eagles Hall shooting might have been connected to two other gang incidents in Fairbanks and a rash of smaller shootings and fires, Crail said.
Among the incidents was a July 27, 2008, brawl at Wal-Mart involving about a dozen people. A handgun reportedly was brandished by one of the combatants, though no shots were fired.That melee was followed a week later by a fight at the Tanana Valley State Fair involving about 20 juveniles and adults. A security guard sustained a minor injury breaking up that fight. No arrests were made in either case.
Young’s public defender, Jennifer Hite, said there are several other possible suspects in the College Road shooting and this might be a case of mistaken identity.
The case has continued for more than a year, as attorneys have conducted more investigation into the people involved in the shooting.In April, Hite said there were serious discussions about a plea deal, but no such deal was mentioned at Thursday’s hearing.

Nine members of the Crips street gang have been indicted on charges they burned down the Holly Shopping Center

Nine members of the Crips street gang have been indicted on charges they burned down the Holly Shopping Center in retaliation for the murder of local Crips founder Michael Asberry, possibly by someone from a rival street gang. The area around the center, also known as Holly Square, at 3365 Holly St., was a hangout for Bloods gang members. Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said at a news conference Friday morning that he had no doubt the indictment of the nine — eight of whom were arrested Thursday — will impact the Crips. "Anytime we do an indictment of this number of people, it is going to have an impact on any kind of street gang," he said. According to the indictment, a confrontation between the Crips and Bloods occurred at the Bash Night Club, 1902 Blake St., when it closed in the early hours of May 18. Asberry had been killed early on May 17 outside an Aurora apartment building by a still-unknown assailant. After the confrontation at Bash, a number of the Crips went to a 7-Eleven store and talked about burning down the Holly Shopping Center because of the killing of Asberry and because the Holly was "known as Bloods' turf," said the indictment. At the 7-Eleven, the group bought drinks in bottles, which they filled with gasoline to make Molotov cocktails. They drove to the shopping center, stuffed rags in the bottles, lit the rags and threw the bottles onto the roof, Morrissey said. The fire burned six businesses and leveled the shopping center. The damage was more than $2 million, the district attorney said.
Morrissey and Denver Police Chief Gerald Whitman said the arson was captured by a camera at a nearby library. Morrissey said the video showed that one of the Molotov cocktails rolled off the roof and hit the head of the person who threw it, causing his head to catch fire. Although that individual can't be identified, Morrissey said other surveillance cameras and photographs are "very helpful." Investigators said the case was broken on May 20 when Denver police Cpl. Dan Andrews pulled over a GMC conversion van in the 1400 block of East 37th Avenue for a tail-light violation and smelled gasoline coming from the van. The driver was identified as Katsina Roybal, one of the Crips suspected in the Holly fire. Two other Crips — Mitchell Walker and James Burleson — were passengers. The people accused of throwing the Molotov cocktails are Burleson, 20; Deangelo Calaway, 19; Mario Jennings, 19; Walker, 18; and Jimmy Hopkins, 22. Roybal, 19; David Tinsley, 22; Corsia Crosby, 20; and Marquis Jones, 22, acted as lookouts, according to the grand jury indictment.