John Martin III, a 51-year-old White man, was a complicated and well-known figure on the streets of Anchorage, Alaska. He gained public notice for his advocacy on behalf of the city's homeless population, most notably staging a six-month protest outside City Hall in 2011 to protest the clearing of encampments. His life was marked by unconventional choices, including a widely reported 2018 incident in which he attempted to sail an eight-foot dinghy to China but accidentally landed in Russia,
where he was detained for months. Though he had a criminal record, family members described him as an inventive man who gave food and clothing to others.
In the pre-dawn hours of June 15, 2023, Martin was sleeping behind a large utility box in the parking lot of the Global Credit Union at the corner of Dimond Boulevard and King Street. Just before 5 a.m., surveillance cameras captured a man on foot approaching him. The man aggressively ripped back Martin’s bedding, rousing him, and yelled at him for a few seconds before pulling out a handgun. He fired eight shots, hitting Martin seven times. When Anchorage Police officers responded to reports of gunfire, they found Martin deceased at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body.
The investigation moved quickly. Homicide detectives gathered surveillance footage from area businesses and used traffic cameras to track the shooter as he fled. The trail led to a Burger King restaurant a few blocks away, where the suspect had reported for his 5:08 a.m. shift as a supervisor just ten minutes after the shooting. Later that day, police arrested 32-year-old Ryan Dummler at the restaurant. After obtaining a warrant, investigators searched his backpack and found a Glock handgun that ballistics testing matched to the shell casings recovered from the crime scene.
Dummler was charged with first- and second-degree murder. At trial, prosecutors presented the surveillance video and ballistics evidence, arguing that Dummler had committed a senseless and unprovoked attack on a man who was sleeping. After deliberating for less than three hours, an Anchorage jury in November 2025 convicted Ryan Michael Dummler on all counts: one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder.
Following his conviction, Dummler remained in custody to await sentencing. As of November 2025, he faces a prison term of 30 to 99 years. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 2026.
