Press Release

Christopher Espiritu-Simpson Pleads Guilty to 2017 Murder of Juanita Lolesio

August 18, 2023

(Anchorage, AK) – Today, 24-year-old Christopher Espiritu-Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of murder in the second degree and one count of misconduct involving weapons in the second degree for two shootings in Anchorage in December 2017. Anchorage Superior Court Judge Jack McKenna accepted Espiritu-Simpson’s guilty plea to the charges.

On December 27, 2017, Espiritu-Simpson fired multiple shots into a vehicle and occupied residences on Stella Place in Anchorage. Nobody was injured in that shooting. Three days later, on December 30, 2017, Espiritu-Simpson and another individual fired multiple shots into a party bus occupied by numerous people on Oklahoma Street in Anchorage. 19-year-old Juanita Lolesio, a rider on the party bus, was shot and died as a result of her injuries. The case was investigated by the Anchorage Police Department.

The court will determine Espiritu-Simpson’s sentence at a hearing scheduled on December 20, 2023. The court ordered the Alaska Department of Corrections to prepare a presentence report to assist with sentencing. Per the agreement of the parties, Judge McKenna may impose a sentence of up to 60 years of active imprisonment for the second-degree murder conviction. Espiritu-Simpson will serve two years for the December 27 shooting. Espiritu-Simpson is currently in the custody of the Alaska Department of Corrections and is no longer permitted to be released on conditions of release.

CONTACT: Anchorage Assistant District Attorney Patrick McKay at (907) 269-6300 or patrick.mckay@alaska.gov.

# # #

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.