Press Release

Johnny Johnson Convicted of 2022 Murder of Alan Wagers

August 11, 2023

(Anchorage, AK) – 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.

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

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Department Media Contacts: Communications Director Patty Sullivan at patty.sullivan@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6368. Information Officer Sam Curtis at sam.curtis@alaska.gov or (907) 269-6269.