Aaron Earl Ham was a 52-year-old white man who was shot and killed at his home in North Pole, Alaska, on April 1, 2023. He was the stepfather of Logan Alvin Bruce.
On the night of the incident, Alaska State Troopers received a 911 call at 9:06 p.m. reporting that a man had been shot. When they arrived at the residence seven minutes later, they found Aaron Ham deceased from his injuries. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation determined that Ham had been shot by his stepson. The shooting occurred after Ham was accused of sending inappropriate messages and illicit photos to a juvenile female family member. According to court documents, another family member had confronted Ham about the photos and asked him to leave the home, but the situation escalated, and family members later testified that they felt unsafe.
Logan Bruce, who was 23 at the time, admitted to shooting his stepfather but stated he did so in self-defense. Bruce told troopers he was worried Ham would kill everyone in the home. He said he saw Ham outside near the main door, carrying a firearm and running toward him. Bruce then fired his .40 caliber pistol approximately 10 times. A woman testified to the grand jury that Bruce came back inside the house and said, “I’m going to jail. I’ve killed him.”
On April 12, 2023, a Fairbanks grand jury indicted Bruce on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder. He was arrested and held at the Fairbanks Correctional Center with bail set at a $50,000 performance bond and a $500,000 unsecured appearance bond.
Bruce’s attorney later filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that the state had presented misleading testimony and failed to provide the grand jury with exculpatory evidence, such as the significant size difference between Ham, who was 6 feet tall and 351 pounds, and Bruce, who was 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed 120 pounds. In March 2024, a second grand jury reviewed the case and returned a new indictment, finding there was not enough evidence to believe Bruce had committed a crime. The grand jury dismissed all murder charges, which ended the prosecution of Logan Bruce.
