Press Release

Anchorage Teens Indicted for Government Hill Murder

February 2, 2017

(ANCHORAGE, Alaska) Today, 18 year olds Sean Simeonoff and Kenya Berezkin were indicted for murder of Jesus Oropeza on January 21, 2017. The grand jury indicted Simeonoff for murder in the first and second degree as well as robbery in the first degree. The grand jury indicted Berezkin for murder in the second degree and robbery in the first degree.

At approximately midnight on January 21, 2017, Oropeza’s father called 911 to report that his son had been shot outside of their residence in the Government Hill neighborhood in Anchorage. Oropeza was transported to the hospital by medics but was pronounced dead by a physician. Oropeza’s father reported that two suspects had fled after the shooting. The Anchorage Police Department investigated the shooting and identified Simeonoff and Berezkin as suspects.

If convicted, Simeonoff and Berezkin face a sentence of up to 99 years in prison for the murder charges. A defendant’s sentence is determined by the judge who must consider the circumstances of the offense, the impact on the victim(s) and the community, and the potential for rehabilitation of the defendant. The charges in the indictment are only allegations and are not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the prosecution must prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Simeonoff and Berezkin are in the custody of the Department of Corrections.

CONTACT: District Attorney Clint Campion at (907) 269-6300 or clinton.campion@alaska.gov. More information about the Anchorage District Attorney’s Office is available at http://www.law.alaska.gov/department/criminal/adao.html.

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