Ionatana Toa, a 27-year-old Pacific Islander man known to friends and family as a loving, kind-hearted, and genuine person, was remembered as an amazing uncle and a dedicated cook. A graduate of East High School in Anchorage, Alaska, he was described as outgoing and respectful, someone who put others before himself.
On the night of Saturday, April 4, 2020, his life was cut short by violence.
At approximately 9:08 p.m., an Anchorage police officer near Bragaw Street and the Glenn Highway heard several gunshots. At the same time, residents in the Mountain View neighborhood reported hearing shots near East 7th Avenue and Klevin Street. Just over ten minutes later, at 9:20 p.m., Toa was dropped off at a local hospital with a life-threatening gunshot wound to his upper body. He did not survive his injuries, and what began as a shots-fired call became a homicide investigation centered on the 4000 block of East 7th Avenue.
The day after the shooting, on April 5, police arrested 30-year-old Rachel Torey Danielle Epperson. She was taken to the Anchorage Jail and charged with manslaughter, first-degree attempted murder, and third-degree assault in connection with Toa’s death. The investigation continued, and the case expanded over the following months.
On July 16, 2020, authorities arrested a second person, 37-year-old Adam Alan Blodgett. State charging documents subsequently revealed that three people faced manslaughter charges stemming from Ionatana Toa’s death: Epperson, Blodgett, and 34-year-old Angelique Aurora Petty.
A week after Blodgett’s arrest, federal prosecutors announced that a grand jury had indicted Epperson and Blodgett on federal gun charges. The indictment accused them of conspiracy and acquiring a firearm by deception. Prosecutors alleged that in mid-March 2020, Epperson had acted as a straw purchaser, buying a 9mm pistol from a licensed dealer on behalf of Blodgett, who was a convicted felon and legally barred from possessing a firearm. Blodgett also faced an additional federal charge for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Separate state charges were also filed against Epperson and Petty for the attempted murder of Blodgett. As of July 2020, the cases were proceeding through the state and federal court systems.
