A Black male, age 33, from Anchorage, Alaska, named Kortez Brown was struck by a single gunshot on the night of January 13, 2018. The violence unfolded in East Anchorage, where police responded around 9:53 pm to a report of a shooting in the 8000 block of East 36th Avenue. Officers found the 33-year-old male with a serious, life-threatening gunshot wound and swiftly transported him to a local hospital.
Despite medical efforts, the 33-year-old male succumbed to his injuries the following day.
In the days that followed, investigators zeroed in on two persons of interest: Carlton Tarkington and Aarron Settje. Both men already faced unrelated felony warrants at the time they emerged in connection with the fatal shooting. One week into the new year's second homicide, detectives believed each may have had information about the events that led to the 33-year-old male's death.
Carlton Tarkington was taken into custody promptly after being named a person of interest; he surrendered to authorities and was held on his prior outstanding warrants. Meanwhile, Aarron Settje remained at large. Settje had already amassed multiple felony charges: earlier in October he faced counts including Class C felony theft, criminal trespass, and causing fear of injury with a weapon. After the shooting, those charges were compounded by his potential involvement in the homicide of the 33-year-old male.
On February 1, 2018, investigators traced Settje to a shoplifting-turned-robbery at a Sportsman's Warehouse. As he attempted to leave, an accomplice brandished a firearm to deter store personnel, allowing Settje to flee in a vehicle. Authorities continued seeking him for both that armed robbery and the homicide investigation.
A breakthrough came in mid-February: a Nixle community alert led to a tip that Settje was inside a Target store on West 100th Avenue. Observers recognized him from the alert, alerted police, and officers spotted him as he exited the store and drove off in a black Saturn sedan. Law enforcement swiftly apprehended him in the vicinity of C and Dimond, and he was taken into custody on outstanding warrants, including those tied to the homicide of the 33-year-old male.
Thus, in the unfolding narrative of Kortez Brown—Black male, age 33, from Anchorage—his sudden death from a single gunshot wound on January 13, 2018, set in motion a search for two persons of interest. Carlton Tarkington surrendered shortly after being identified. Aarron Settje remained free for weeks before being connected to additional violent incidents and ultimately arrested after a tip following a Nixle alert.
